A/N: Hello, people!
I don't own Harry Potter.
I have no beta.
ENJOY!
CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON. I FOLLOW BACK.
Some stuff in this chapter will lead to new things in the following chapters and I'm so excited!
Luna Lovegood smiled as she flitted about the corridors. Her feet were a little cold, but she would only cast a warming charm when it became unbearable. She was too busy dancing and humming to really care.
At present, she was going to Harry. He was in the owlery at present, sending off a letter to his mother.
"Luna? Where are your bloody shoes?! Did someone steal them again?!"
Harry was like a righteous prince and was very protective of the few friends he had.
"That's it, I'm contacting Fred and George because this is ridiculous!"
Apparently he had finally had enough of it. Luna smiled a little, touched that someone would show so much concern for her well being. And Harry had just transfigured a pair of gloves into slippers for her!
"I came to tell you to watch out for the Wood. They seek to overthrow you and a few others in the tournament."
Harry paused what he was doing, which was pacing back and forth. "When you say 'overthrow', what do you mean?"
"His plans are nefarious and he wishes to put an end to the remaining chances many important families have at rebuilding themselves."
"Well damn. Will they go after any of our friends?"
"Possibly so."
"Damn!"
Harry stopped short at the sight of one Rigel Lestrange awaiting him in the library. The boy was much shorter than Harry was and had the head of dark curls and grey eyes that his mother was well known for. He was fidgeting with his tie and seemed uncomfortable.
"Hello, Harry," the boy greeted, voice low and quiet so Madam Pince didn't lose her mind again.
"How are you, Rigel?"
The kid flushed. "F-fine! I just wanted to see if you needed help with the next task. I'm good with riddles."
As a Ravenclaw, Harry expected him to be. But the fact that Rigel was offering to help him was kind of sweet.
"I've already got a plan in place and the first riddle solved. But thanks!"
Another flush. It wasn't unknown to half the school that Rigel was smitten with him and had he been at least a little bigger in frame, Harry wouldn't have a problem in dating him, but the fourth year looked like a second year and Harry was already considered an adult. It would just be weird.
"Can I study with you today?"
"Sure."
The boy could have squealed he looked so excited. And that was how the table was suddenly covered in books and parchments dedicated to Healing of all things.
"I noticed that you haven't been able to get much studying done for your Mastery so I thought I could help. I found a lot of books in my family's library for different spells and texts dedicated to the craft. Though a lot of them are Dark Arts. I understand if you don't want to touch those ones though."
It was astonishing how Rigel could be Bellatrix's child, because he was so open and friendly. He was also the personification of shy.
And Rigel had taken several books from his family's library in order to help him study.
Harry ruffled the boy's hair, unable to help himself. "You didn't have to do that for me, Rigel."
"I wanted to," the boy insisted. "Do you- would you like to see them even though they are Dark?"
"I don't care if they're Dark. We are taught Dark and Light Magics all the time in school. Just because my parents don't like it doesn't mean I am of the same opinion. I happen to know of several Dark rituals that could fix a myriad of medical problems."
The Ravenclaw sighed in relief. "Wicked!"
And maybe a little hero worship too. At least Rigel wasn't creepy about it like Colin was.
"What do you want to take notes on first?" the boy asked, rummaging through the pile of old tomes.
"Whatever one you think would be most beneficial at present."
The Herbalist's Choice was plopped down in front of him.
"That has a comprehensive list of all the different mixtures of plants that have been recorded since the beginning of my family. My great ancestor, Xerxes Lestrange, is the one who began the interest in the search for medical remedies. Additions are always being made to the book when someone in the family discovers a new method in their travels.
All sorts of tonics and pastes found from different corners of the world are stored in here. This book is the oldest in our library and is under the most demanding protections available, making it nearly indestructible. So don't worry about ruining it, you literally couldn't burn it with Fiendfyre if you tried."
The tome was incredibly old and the cover was made of grey Vellum and smattered across the spine, were silver daggers. They actually looked like real silver too. The parchment inside was discoloured and was crinkled in some places.
The very first half of the book looked too old to touch, but to his amazement, the pages didn't crumble when he touched them. He could tell Rigel had spoken the truth when he mentioned the age of it.
"Rigel, I think you are my favourite person in the world."
The answering flush was adorable and suddenly, Harry was feeling a lot better about things.
Harry took the magical bag he had been given for being one of the five hundred to get to the next round. Inside, he had shoved his Invisibility Cloak, his Two-Way Mirror, and his coin purse because one never knew when they would get stranded somewhere and need help. Next was the Galleon they had all been given, plus an inkwell and quill, and a pouch to keep the riddles in.
Overall, he was certain that he was properly prepared for the task. With a nod to himself, Harry joined Hermione in the Common Room. She was bouncing excitedly.
It was the fifth of December and snow had already begun to fall, covering the mountains in a thick blanket that was sparkling white. It was cold and Harry had bundled himself in a thick, woolen robe for the occasion, the darkest green he could find that nearly blended in with the darkness.
Yes, the Second Task was being held at night. It was eight in the evening and yet it was a black as pitch without a cloud in the sky. The forest looked even more imposing than usual. Everything was a stark contrast against the snow, leaving no one safe from scrutiny.
This task would only be broadcasted over the WWN. This was not a time for spectators to be involved because it would make no sense. Especially since the event was taking place at Hogwarts and the entire school and its grounds were where they would be participating.
They were to all congregated on the ground in front of Hagrid's hut, where Voldemort would then inform them of what they would be getting up to during the however many hours they would be doing this.
His robe was enchanted with several warming charms, which left him almost impervious to the chilly air outside. Hermione had bundled herself with extra clothing just in case.
"I hope this won't take forever," the witch had commented. "I don't want to lose study time tomorrow."
Because that was all she could think about in life.
On the ground, they met up with the twins, who were also dressed for warmth. The rest of the competition had already gathered in the snow, looking toward the hut where Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Snape stood. None of the man's other followers could be seen, but that didn't mean they weren't around.
"Welcome to the second task."
His voice carried, but did not echo. He was calm and collected, not phased by the rowdy people around him. He looked completely bored with the proceedings, and if Harry hadn't known that the Dark Lord was a master at masking his expressions, he would have been easily fooled.
Harry looked around, eyeing the competition and catching the eye of the man from the first task that had nearly bowled Hermione over. He sent a sneer in the man's direction and smirked when he received a glare in return.
"I would like to welcome you all to the second task. Before we begin the test, I intend to inform you of what you have to look forward to," said Voldemort, a genial and disarming smile on his face.
"I hope all of you have kept the Galleons that we gifted if you with," the man continued, looking amused now when several people stared back in confusion. "Those Galleons are a crucial part to this particular task."
Protests arose immediately as several people claimed that they did not know that they should have kept the Galleon because nothing had been mentioned about it. All the while, Voldemort simply took in the complaints without a word. Once the last person had finished speaking, the man graced them with a devious smile that made Harry's hair stand on end.
"This is a competition that encompasses several little secrets. The goal of course is to prove yourself worthy enough to be my consort. I expect my consort to use their brain to think outside of the box. You cannot expect the booklet to give you all the information. just as life will not always have the answers ready for you to see. Sometimes you have to go and find them yourself."
Voldemort looked so pleased with himself and Harry could feel a small shiver of fear running down his spine. He was definitely one of the ones who had kept his Galleon and they obviously had to do with something important. He had a very strong suspicion that he was not going to like anything that came after this.
"The Galleon will play a crucial part in this task. I personally enchanted those Galleons and made them into Portkeys. Once you have acquired all five riddles that you need to pass, you then have to use that Portkey to return to this very spot. If you return to this spot and you do not have the Galleon that has my magical signature on it, you will not advance to the next task."
Once again, most of the competitors did not appreciate this sudden Revelation. In fact, Harry found it very interesting and extremely mischievous of the Dark Lord to do such a thing. That was definitely one way to ensure that the numbers were cut at least in half if not more.
"I will also remind you that there should be a certain number among you all that did not spend nor forget their Galleons. Also, if someone were to lose their Galleon in any way, they will not advance onward, but if someone were to acquire a new Galleon that formerly belonged to another, they would be accepted and will be participating in the next task."
Uh oh.
Looking around, Harry could certainly see the worried faces. So not only did they have to solve riddles, find the places where the riddles actually resided, and get past all of the Knights who were stationed all over the area, without being seen, but some also had to defend themselves against others in case someone tried to take their Galleons. The game was suddenly a lot more dangerous and a lot more interesting.
"As the booklet states, you will need to find five riddles. When you solve a riddle, a hint to the location of your next riddle will be on the parchment. You will have to find all the riddles without being discovered by any of my dear friends. You each have 100 points and if anyone is seen, they lose ten points. If you have below eighty points, you are automatically disqualified.
Be wary, for my friends have been given permission to use extreme measures in order to flush out those who are hidden in plain sight. You might also like to know that while there are thousands of riddles scattered across the area, several of them are interconnected. Meaning while one of you may have a hint for the location of the next riddle, somebody else may also have received a hint to that location. The one who gets there and solves it first will get the hint to the following riddle. The one who lost the chance will then be directed to a new riddle."
The man just loved to make this harder and harder. Harry was not fooled by the pitying smile the man was flashing them. He was definitely enjoying this kind of torture and now Harry was indefinitely annoyed.
"You'll have until midnight to complete the task. I wish you all good fortune."
Harry immediately looked down to the piece of parchment in his palm. Since he had managed to solve his riddle ahead of time, he could begin the search for the next. A A drawing appeared then. On the back of the parchment, was a drawn rendition of a statue in the courtyard by the West Wing. One of the rare statues that were located on the grounds, in an out of the way location.
He remembered that because it was of an angel holding a flower, that she liked to wave at people when they walked past. None of the other statues at Hogwarts were of angels nor were they nice to people who got too near. Also, most of them weren't enchanted, meaning that they couldn't move.
Reaching into his bag, Harry withdrew his Invisibility Cloak and slipped it on in the ensuing chaos of the other champions. Briefly, he noted that Hermione was already moving, pulling a full-sized broom from her own bag and mounting it immediately.
Hermione hated(feared) flying, but she was willing to do it all for something like this. The twins, who were several meters away, had put their heads together, both grinning madly.
Deeming them all safe for the time being, Harry turned and retreated, hoping he could get the stupid riddles done and over with.
Bellatrix Lestrange cackled gleefully as she began roughly casting every destructive spell she could think of.
Her section of the grounds had been filled with dozens of riddles and she was given leave to destroy the area so long as she cleaned it all up when she finished. So obviously she decided to go big, blasting the ground apart, splitting trees in half, and unearthing giant rocks that she began to practice her aim with.
Five hundred little fools who all wanted to marry her master - except Potter of course - and she wasn't going to go easy on any of them! If they could get by her, unseen, then they had to be talented. She would demand no less!
All she knew, was that Potter had an Invisibility Cloak and had also gotten a riddle from her section. She wanted so badly to test him, but she also kind of wanted him to keep all of his points!
Still, if the boy managed to get by her, where she was seated on L'ange Blanc - the only Christian based statute in all of Hogwarts that was built in respect to some Muggleborn from the sixteenth century - then he deserved to pass this task with flying colours!
Bellatrix wanted to confront Potter most of all and she couldn't wait. It would be perfect!
The brunet couldn't stop her laughter as it rang through the night, no doubt warning everyone to steer clear of her.
She looked down to the parchment and promptly lost all composure.
"WHERE DID IT GO?!"
That had to be a thing in the Black family. Being capable of making someone's ears bleed. Walburga Black was like that. Sirius could get like that. Hell, even Andromeda and Tonks could make eardrums explode if they tried hard enough.
Harry breathed quietly as he held on to the statue. Bellatrix was stomping across the courtyard, shouting curses and blowing things up in order to flush him out. She was yelling his name specifically and he had no desire to meet her in a duel.
She must have seen him put the cloak on. But that didn't bother him much, because it wasn't like she could summon it, like she was trying to do now. Harry's cloak was special for whatever reason and no one but he could summon it. He had never really given it thought, but he praised the gods for such protection now.
Apparently, Voldemort had really given the go ahead to his Knights and Bellatrix was not holding back.
Harry inched around the statue, until it rested between him and Bellatrix. He slowly began to back away. All he needed to do was reach the barrier and then hop over and run for it. He was good at running. Auror Trials sucked very much and his father and Sirius were put through extensive training at least once a week to make certain that they were up to par. Harry had to do it once a week during the summer.
Bellatrix was staring intently at the ground as she fired her curses, and Harry realised that she noticed she couldn't see him, but he would still make indentations in the snow.
Not good.
He backed up a little more, hoping he wasn't kicking too much snow around as he did so.
Harry's back hit something cold and he turned, vaulting over the barrier just as he heard a loud, "AH HA!"
Harry dived forward into a somersault, narrowing dodging the blasting curse that made the wall he'd just jumped over, explode. Debris flew in every direction, some hitting his back as he fled. The teen ran for it, knowing that she couldn't see him personally, even if she knew it was him. Therefore, Harry departed from the scene, the sounds of the woman's irate screaming was like music to his ears.
That's what she got for thinking he wasn't good enough to win.
You never have enough of it, yet it's everlasting.
Harry frowned at the riddle on the new piece of parchment. The only thing he could think of that was everlasting, was time. Yet he wondered if that was really the case because not everyone suffered constraints because of time.
Throwing caution to the wind, Harry decided to give it a whirl.
"Time," he said low and clear.
The red ink on the riddle turned green and Harry grinned. Okay, so he managed to answer one on his own. That was so much easier than the word 'facetious' had been. What the bloody hell was a panvowel anyway?
The back of the parchment showed a sketch of a dark tunnel that got darker and less detailed the further away it was.
Harry realised where his clue was pointing him toward and he understood how Snape knew about it. He felt a pang of regret, despite the fact that he had had no part in what had occurred between the man and his godfathers and father.
Not one of Sirius' better moments.
Still, the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack was in fact a secret and no one knew about it in Harry's generation. That was a dirty trick to play, especially if someone who hadn't known about it, had found this particular riddle.
Also, not many knew how to calm down the Whomping Willow, which made it even more dangerous.
Snape was a devious bastard.
Hermione knew that Yaxley had a strong hatred for Muggleborns and Blood Traitors. The moron was one of those who thought that Muggleborns were 'stealing' magic from more 'rightful and deserving' Purebloods. Like, the man hated Muggles so much, but then put all of this faith in them to be capable of stealing magic and implanting it into their children. And in doing so, apparently felt no need to burn witches at the stake any longer, considering they would have to know about magic in order to be able to steal it.
She leaned against the tree as she decided just how to sneak past him. She could sneak, but there was a small spark inside of herself, that called for her to humiliate the daft git. She kind of wanted to hurt him a little, just to pay him back for his slanderous speech and actions.
Lifting her wand, Hermione sent a wordless Stupefy toward the back of the man's head and smiled brightly as it made contact. Yaxley went down immediately and she smirked at how foolish he had been to leave himself open to attack. He was not one of the better Knights of Walpurgis, that was for certain.
Hermione slipped out from her hiding spot by the trees, in order to approach him.
Once he was deemed unconscious, she levitated him and plastered him to the cold, stone wall of the castle, where she used various sticking charms to keep him attached. She then proceeded to spell out a message with Flagrate, saying, I am such a pathetic Pureblood. I was defeated by a 'weak Muggleborn.
Once she was pleased with her work, the Gryffindor searched for her riddle and beamed when she found it in the front pocket of his trousers.
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
The witch snorted, realising that someone who was Muggle raised had written this.
"'Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!'"
The parchment accepted her answer and she turned it over to peruse the next riddle.
Number three would be found soon!
Sirius howled with laughter, slapping his knee because he could. "She stuck his arse to the wall!"
Lily rolled her eyes good naturedly, because it had been funny. The Wireless was working overtime to give the inhabitants of Great Britain's Magical society a good play by play of the events happening in the second task. Unfortunately, not much time was spent on each contestant because there were so many to keep track of.
Voldemort had set up Two-Way mirrors all over the area so that those in the WWN could relay everything. The summerisers couldn't even get a word in because something was always happening.
So far, Harry had managed to make it past Bellatrix Lestrange, Hermione had made it past Yaxley and had strung him up good and proper like the filth he was. Fred and George Weasley had let loose some of their Decoy Detonators already, leaving Avery and Mulciber all turned around… and lacking hair.
Lily still had her Two-Way Mirror on the table in case Harry needed her help for this. She wanted to ask him why he had entered the tournament. She wanted to know what had gone through his head that made him decide to enter. But she didn't want to be pushy. Teenagers didn't like it when their parents didn't give them space.
Lily didn't want to be the type that he son wanted to avoid simply because she was too clingy.
"Mum?"
Lily grasped the mirror and held it up, seeing Harry's face appeared in the small, rounded glass.
"Hi, darling! You did a good job escaping Bellatrix Lestrange."
The boy flushed a little. "Mum, I ran away."
"And you didn't get injured, nor were you seen. You were tasked with getting the riddle, not fighting, therefore you did well. Did you solve your riddle yet?"
Lily ignored Remus, Sirius, and James, who were watching her and the mirror.
"Yeah, Snape left that riddle in the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack, so I was able to get it easily enough once I stunned the Willow. However, the next one is leading me to I don't even know where. The drawing looks like a cat, but it has two tails and it looks angry."
The mirror was turned around to face the drawing he spoke of and she had not recognised it.
Lily had no idea where that was, but Sirius had slammed a hand against the table in excitement. "I know where that is! It's on a tapestry in the teacher's lounge!"
Harry sighed. "I have to go in the school now? At least it's warmer in there."
As Harry made his way to the location of the next riddle, Lily sent Sirius a look, demanding that he explain himself.
"It was a prank."
She should have known.
Of all people, they stationed Filch and his bloody cat on the teacher's lounge? Just how many riddles were in there that they had to have a guard?
Harry looked down at his mirror and whispered, "It's Mrs. Norris and Filch."
"I've got this!" came a whispered yell from Sirius.
His mother held out the mirror, showing his godfather who was literally transforming into Padfoot.
Suddenly, a cacophony of barks from Sirius and growling from Remus, filled the corridor. Harry peaked around the corner, finding Mrs. Norris backing away from his direction, all of her fur standing on end as she hissed her displeasure.
As Filch looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the noise, Harry tiptoed closer, causing the Kneazle to turn and run. Filch ran after her, cursing whoever decided to scare her, and promising retribution when he found them.
"Thanks, guys. I'm going in."
The noise ceased suddenly, and Harry opened the door carefully. He didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean no one was there. Still, he took his time entering and looked around for the tapestry Sirius mentioned.
All the way in the back of the bloody room! Closing the door behind himself, Harry locked it just to be safe.
With an annoyed huff, Harry rushed on over, pushing the tapestry aside and finding a piece of parchment stuck to the wall. And it wouldn't come off.
He tried the reverse to the sticking charm. He tried to use some water, which had no effect. He transfigured a quill into a knife and tried to pry it off.
Nothing.
Tearing the tapestry down. Harry gave himself a good margin of space, before pointing his wand and unleashing the strongest Bombarda Maxima he could manage, obliterating the entire section of wall and all the photographs and paintings with it.
With a pleased grin. Harry bent down and plucked up the large piece of stone that the riddle was still stuck to. He shoved it in his bag and turned to leave, only to nearly swallow his heart upon seeing Voldemort sitting on a nearby sofa, reading a book.
"What are you doing in here?!"
The man smirked. "I'm simply reading. I've been here the whole time, whether you saw me or not is of no consequence. Don't be scared, Harry."
Harry looked down, finding that no part of him was showing and yet Voldemort still knew it had been him. Somehow, that man was capable of surprising things.
"You know what?" the younger wizard began, his annoyance at its peak, "I have thought this many times over the past two months, but I haven't said it aloud. You really are a twat waffle."
There was silence in the room, but the space of a minute, as Voldemort considered his words.
And then the dam broke.
A loud, barking laugh that could only belong to Sirius, rang out from the Two-Way Mirror, which Harry immediately moved to smother. Of course the added laughter of his family made it nearly impossible to cover, so he disabled the mirror and shoved it in his pocket, pretending that he didn't know anything about anything.
Mortified, Harry turned, fleeing from the Dark Lord, through the hole he had just created, before the man could do anything. And he was eternally grateful when the man allowed him to leave without so much as a rejoinder. Thank Merlin for small mercies.
And damn his mouth!
James Potter stared at his wife. The Two-Way Mirror was blank in the center of their kitchen table. Sirius and Remus were staring at it expectantly, but nothing was happening.
"You don't think Voldemort punished him for it, do you?" Lily asked, finally voicing all of their worries.
Before James could hop on the affirmative, Remus shook his head.
"I don't think so. It's strange, but the man sounded almost teasing. As if he was flirting."
"What?!" Sirius demanded, looking horrified.
The werewolf shrugged. "Did you not hear how he said Harry's name? It sounded as if they were on close terms if Harry was willing to get cheeky with him and he simply responded with a taunt."
James felt like he was going to vomit. Voldemort, the Dark Tosser, interested in his son. It was wrong on every level it could be wrong on.
"If Voldemort is interested in Harry, then he would obviously try to keep Harry within his sphere of reference," said Lily, a look of realisation coming over her face. "And if they are on teasing terms, let alone speaking terms, then they must have met a few times before that. And as Harry seemed annoyed, I would hazard a guess that Voldemort initiated all contact."
Remus' face took on the same expression. "Voldemort entered Harry into the tournament."
The air was stiff in the kitchen, with the four magicals deeply disturbed by the revelation that made sense. A lot of sense.
"But why remain in the competition if someone else entered him?" Sirius asked, much to James' relief.
"He's a Slytherin. No doubt he was crafty about convincing Harry to compete. Or maybe he used his charm. He is good looking," said Remus, causing Sirius to gape in offense.
"Padfoot, he is attractive. He probably knows how to use his looks to get what he wants too."
"But Harry isn't one to be swayed by looks," James pointed out. "He wants a spouse whom he can connect deeply with. You know, to read with, argue with, and who will understand him. He wouldn't be taken in by beauty. Besides, it's all artificial. He used to be snakey if you remember."
"Whatever it is," Lily interrupted, casting a glare around the table, "we now know why Harry is competing. I hope I can get the full answer out of him in my next letter."
"Do it. Bribe him with treacle tart if you have to."
After all, Harry loved treacle tart.
Hermione had not expected this. She had seen the man giving Harry dirty looks, but she hadn't expected to get in between whatever was going on between them. Or rather, whatever problem the man had with Harry.
His name was Reginald DuBois and he had some kind of issue with Harry, and was therefore pushing his frustration out on her.
"What do you want?!" the brunet demanded as she redirected the Cruciatus. The man was actually trying to use something so terrible. This meant that he was looking to cause harm. Not to take her Galleon. He wanted to hurt her badly, if not kill her.
Many things were worse than death.
"You're friends with Potter, that's bad enough."
Hermione jumped back, dodging a reductor that had been aimed at her head. He couldn't think that he would get away with it? Killing was not allowed in the tournament and each task was being monitored!
Raising her wand, Hermione cast the Sonorous Charm and screamed loudly.
The piercing noise made the man reach for his ears, giving her a second to retaliate.
Sometimes, playing fair was not in the works. If this man was going to be using Unforgivables, then Hermione would retaliate, without causing pain or death.
"Imperio!"
Hermione had never tried to cast this curse before, but she had studied it in detail and made sure she knew every law concerning it. Hermione knew that it dealt with will and if a person had a weak will, they wouldn't be able to pull off the spell.
There was a sort of rush flowing through her body and it felt like she had just gotten on a roller-coaster. Her blood was pounding in her ears and her magic just felt… so amazing.
That might be the addictive quality that accompanied the curse.
There was a sort of pull. She felt like there was a band wrapped around her body and it was being tugged on insistently. DuBois was fighting the Imperius. Huffing, Hermione forced more energy and her intent into the curse, demanding that he bend to her will and become compliant with her orders for him to stop everything he was doing.
Within seconds, the strange band went lax and DuBois settled, a blank stare on his face.
You will turn around and continue to search for more riddles, the witch ordered.
As DuBois turned to leave, a spark of inspiration hit.
But give me your first two riddles before you go.
With a devious smirk, Hermione left the courtyard feeling much better than when she had been corralled in there.
She had to find Harry and tell him to be careful.
With a last glance around, Hermione activated her Portkey, allowing it to whisk her away to the starting point.
This had been an interesting task.
Voldemort sat in the lounge, contemplating one Harry James Potter and marveling the boy's intestinal fortitude.
Voldemort had been called many things in his long life.
Freak, Boy, Riddle, Monster, Horror, Murderer, Slimy Slytherin, Snake, and Noseless. Not once had anyone ever had the audacity to call him such a thing as 'twat waffle' to his face, let alone within hearing distance.
Of all the insults the boy could have come up with, the best he had was 'twat waffle'. Voldemort didn't know whether to be offended or amused. He settled for a mixture of both, because he found the way it had been said, to be humorous, even if he did not agree with the name itself.
He was more of a tosser, really.
The Dark Lord Apparated then, because he could. Being the one who set the new wards around Hogwarts, he could do whatever he wanted within the confines of the wards. Unlike some.
He found himself staring at a sea of faces, with one Hermione Granger among the lot, but Harry nowhere to be seen. Severus stood off to the side, looking more pale than the last time Voldemort had seen him.
"How goes the competition, Severus?"
"My Lord, the first few dozen have arrived. Some through luck and others by extraordinary means," the man said in a low, confiding tone.
"Oh? Do tell."
"Granger used the Imperius when DuBois tried to Crucio her. She then forced him to give her two of his riddles, which made her one of the first people to return."
Unable to help himself, the Dark Lord looked over in the girl's direction, finding her staring off at the sky, blinking rapidly. She might not have been able to cast the curse for very long, but she had managed to succeed. Still, for someone with a Light Core, using Dark Magic was likely going to turn her into an addict if she did not see the Medi-Witch once the task ended.
She was obviously dazed and suffering withdrawal over only a few seconds of exposure to the curse.
Still, it was impressive that she had managed to take control of a man twice her age. A man who was also supposed to be one of the greatest minds of the last half century.
How far DuBois had fallen in his quest to thwart the rules.
"And the rest?"
"Granger also dealt with Yaxley and no one has bothered to awaken him yet."
Perhaps he should give Hermione Granger more consideration in the tournament. There was much capability there.
"Potter is coming."
Voldemort wouldn't admit to the fact that he perked up a bit. He was just pleased that one of his favourites had made it.
Potter stomped up to Severus and handed over his five riddles and Galleon before going to join his friend. He didn't even spare Voldemort a glance.
Rude.
"Trouble in paradise, my Lord?"
"Severus, you really don't want to say anything else right now."
The man took the hint(threat) for what it was.
Harry stared at the scroll he had been given. It contained the hint he would need for the next task. Despite running into Voldemort, he hadn't lost any points because the man wasn't a judge, just a spectator.
The Third Task will take place on 24 January 1998.
For this task, it would behoove you to have your charmed bags filled with various items. Depending on the competitor, there will be Transfiguration, Runes, Alchemy, Spell Creation, Creation, and even some extra surprises.
Remember, this is a test of ingenuity and there is a certain level of danger involved.
The best of fortune to you!
Harry sighed. At least he and his friends had made it out and no one died.
However, he was going to have to deal with DuBois at some point. If only he could do so without getting caught.
It was time to take Malfoy up on that offer from third year.
A/N: Another is done!
-DuBois means 'wood'.
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