A/N - JKR owns everything familiar.
A/N -Read, enjoy, and review. Although I will say that it was hard getting motivated to write this chapter --- with only 5 reviews from the last one.
Chapter 53
First Four
Since this had happened to him once before, Harry immediately knew that he had fallen into the book that he had picked up in Dumbledore's office. Right away, he looked around to take in his surroundings. He was in alone in a well-lit square room that was ten feet tall and wide. The walls were white and had no distinguishing features. The light actually surprised Harry because he couldn't detect its source. Looking up to the ceiling, he noted that there was no fixture up there. Nor were there candles or even a window that would account for the light. Noticing the absence of a window he began searching for the door. In the ten by ten room, it took him next to no time to realize that there was no door.
"Hello," he called out hoping someone would answer him. He held his breath and strained his hearing trying to listen for any type of response or even a noise of some type. Nothing.
"HELLO," he tried again except shouting this time. But again he got no response.
Realizing that he was trapped in this doorless and windowless room, Harry pulled out his wand. Unfortunately he wasn't sure which spell would help him escape. His mind briefly wandered back to that day so many years ago when he first heard Hermione perform the Alohamora spell in the third floor corridor. He allowed himself a brief smile at the memory before forcing his brain to consider the problem at hand. Since there was no door or window to open, he knew that spell would not help him. Finally he decided to just try to blast a hole through the wall.
BANG
Whatever Harry had expected it wasn't for the spell to be reflected off the wall right back at him. His own spell had rebounded off the wall and hit him squarely in the chest. The force of it knocked him back several feet where he crashed into the opposite wall. He shook his head in an attempt to make himself more aware. Unsure what to do now that he was loathe to cast another spell, he let himself slide down along the wall until his was sitting with his back against it in an effort to relax. Every now and then he would shout out a greeting just in case but he wasn't really surprised when time after time he never got a response.
Harry wasn't really sure how long he sat there along the wall. It felt like days but he knew that it was probably more like three or four hours. He vowed to himself to replace his watch just as soon as he got out of this room. Truth be told, he didn't know why he still wore the watch that he'd broken during the second task last year. But at least he was thinking about something besides this stupid room.
Finally, another being appeared in the room with him. It wasn't a person though, it was a snake. As a matter of fact, it looked a lot like the snake he talked to the last time he fell into a book.
"Greetingsssss Harry Potter," the snake offered as a type of introduction.
"Er --- hello," Harry answered shyly.
"Do you know why you are here?"
"I think so. To become the leader of the Order of the Serpents?"
Harry had never actually seen a snake laugh before so he couldn't be certain if the snake in front of him was really laughing at him or not but he was pretty sure that it was. He replayed the brief conversation in his mind quickly deciding that he hadn't said anything funny. He waited, wearing a slight scowl, for the snake to continue --- which he finally did.
"Harry Potter, you have to earn the right to become our leader. You are not the only perssssson up for the honor."
"I know. You already showed me that anyone that can speak Parseltongue could become the leader. I know that means that it's me and Voldemort right? What do we have to do? Do we have to duel? Is it to the death? When do we start? Is Voldemort here?"
Harry couldn't believe that he was rambling on in front of a snake but he couldn't clamp his mouth down on the thoughts that wouldn't leave his head since he found out about his task. The snake had listened patiently to the questions before answering although Harry once again thought the snake was laughing at him.
"There will be no duel Harry Potter. We have found that too many people have died during the duelsssss robbing the Order of potentially valuable membersssss. Even when we placed extra precautionsssss on the duel the lossssser, and even the winner, usssssually died. I think it might have sssssomething to do with the type of people that we often attract for our potential leadersssss."
The snake paused allowing Harry time to process what he had just learned. He had to admit that he was slightly relieved that he wouldn't have to duel Voldemort just yet. Even though he seldom said it out loud, he didn't really think that he could take on the Dark Lord and win at this time of his life. Although now he was curious what he would have to do instead. He turned his full attention back to the snake practically willing him to continue, which he did.
"You will participate in five tasssssksssss. Whoever claimsssss victory in a majority out of the five will become the leader of our Order. Now the three of you --- "
"THREE???"
"Yesssss. Three. Thisssss sssssurprisssssesssss you?"
"Of course it surprises me. You said you have to speak Parseltongue to be eligible. Only Voldemort and I can do that. Everyone knows that."
"No. That wasssss once true but no longer. You are correct that one of the participantsssss callsssss himssssself Lord Voldemort. I believe that Voldemort gave the ability to one other than you. The third competitor here callsssss himssssself Death Eater."
"Who is it?"
"Who isssss what Harry Potter?"
"Who is the Death Eater?" Harry asked thinking it was the most obvious question in the world.
"It isssss not important. He callsssss himssssself Death Eater so we too will call him Death Eater. Now if I can be allowed to continue?"
Harry automatically nodded. After all, there was no point in being rude to this snake. Even though it laughed at him occasionally, it did seem to be on his side --- or at least not against him. That counted a lot to Harry considering he was in an unknown place about to do unknown things to try to become the leader of an Order he knew very little about. He gave the snake his full attention.
"The three of you will compete in five individual tasssssksssss. We will keep track of the winner through that ssssscoreboard." The snake used his head to indicate that Harry should look up. The ceiling had been replaced with glass. Even though the walls stood ten feet high, Harry was able to see quite a lot through the glass ceiling.
First, he saw the scoreboard that the snake had referred to. It was enormous. On the scoreboard he read three names listed one right under the other. On it in giant green letters he read, "Lord Voldemort", "Harry Potter", and "Death Eater". Each of them had a "0" beside their respective names.
Secondly he saw lots and lots of people wearing black robes and masks. He could only guess that these masked figures were all members of the Order. They were all looking at something that Harry couldn't see. The snake followed his gaze thereby noticing that he was trying to determine what everyone was looking at.
"They are watching a monitor that no competitor can sssssee. We do many thingsssss to make certain that our leader utilizesssss an honorable tactic. Initially, given that people can be bribed or threatened, we sssssnakesssss run the entire proceeding now. Additionally, we have the monitor that all the membersssss watch while a potential leader isssss performing one of the five tasksssss but we do not allow you all to watch each other. Finally we make all potential leadersssss enter into a Wizard'sssss Wager with each other."
Harry was extremely shocked at this last stipulation. "A Wiz --- Wizard's wager?" He managed to ask.
"Yesssss --- You do know what all that entailsssss, do you not Harry Potter?"
"Yes I do." Harry once again marveled at his Headmaster's insight. Was it a coincidence or did Dumbledore some how know that Harry would need to know about a Wizard's Wager? Dumbledore was an amazing old man. Harry smiled to himself as he waited for the snake to continue. Just before the snake continued with the details, another question occurred to Harry.
"How can I enter into a Wizard's Wager with someone whose name I don't know? That hardly strikes me as fair."
"Sssssmart man. We would do well with you leading the Order. Ancient Magic will bind the two who are defeated. Do not worry with that. Ancient Magic isssss why no one can cheat, why you can't throw a ssssspell in thisssss room and why the top wizard will be picked."
"Hello." Harry greeted the second snake that had suddenly appeared in the room. The new snake was carrying a parchment in its mouth. Harry could tell that the snake wanted him to take the parchment so he did. It was the Wizard's Wager document. Harry looked back to the new snake, which did nothing except point to the document in Harry's hand. He looked down and read it out loud.
"As time and again it has been proven dangerous for our competitors to be in the same room together, the rule about tapping each others wands is exempted. Instead, the wizard needs to tap this document twice to signify his or her willingness to enter into this wager. Entering the wager is required for any wizard to compete for the honor of becoming the leader. The terms of the wager are thus: if you win you will become the leader of the Order of the Serpents. If you lose, you will remain or become a member of the Order of the Serpents. Tap this parchment twice if you agree to these terms."
That was all it said. Harry looked up to the two snakes. They waited patiently for his decision. Harry, however, realized that he had no decision to make --- not really. He had to win this to keep the Order of the Phoenix intact. He had to win this so he could be near Sirius, Dumbledore and the others. He pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment twice.
A date time stamp appeared on the contract along with a new bit of writing that Harry read. "If Harry Potter forfeits his terms of the contract he will forfeit the rest of his wizarding education including but not limited to all Hogwarts courses, Quidditch clinics, and advanced degrees."
Harry didn't relish the thought of that at all. He couldn't imagine living in the wizarding world without being able to become an Unspeakable like his parents, or attend Auror training, or even go to a Quidditch lesson. Harry continued to stare at the parchment until some movement caught his eye.
The same snake that brought in the parchment slithered over and spit at it. This action confused Harry until he realized that it served as the witness mark. The snake grabbed the parchment in his mouth and disappeared. Harry turned numbly to the remaining snake.
"You haven't much time left before we begin. Good luck Harry Potter. I will leave you to prepare yourssssself."
And with that, Harry was left alone in his room. He sat against the wall again looking through the glass ceiling. He wondered briefly who the Death Eater was but really his mind turned to the five tasks. He kept telling himself that if he could do the Tri-Wizarding Championship then he could do this. Finally, he turned his mind's attention into reviewing all the spells he had learned during the last year getting ready for his third task.
In less than one hour's time, Harry noticed something new by the scoreboard. A monster-sized version of the contract Harry had signed was floating next to the scoreboard, just to the left of it. Harry looked at it so he could see what the other two risked. Harry was pleased to see that Voldemort would forfeit his immortality. He wondered if there was any way that he could get Voldemort to re-nig on the contract. After all, he reasoned, that would be one of the best possible outcomes.
He read on to see what the other wizard was risking. "If Death Eater forfeits his terms of the contract he will have his deepest secret revealed."
Deepest secret revealed? That didn't really seem that fair. After all, Harry would gladly have any of his secrets revealed instead of forfeiting his right to any further wizarding education. Harry wondered what could be so important to a Death Eater to keep hidden unless ---
"He's got to be the Death Eater at Hogwarts," Harry reasoned to himself. He felt himself starting to get red in the face. His hands were clutched into fists. Right in this very building were probably the two darkest wizards in the world and not only could he not get at them, he couldn't even see them. The logical side of himself, reminded the rest of him that it was this same barrier that kept Harry's scar from hurting, allowing him at least a chance to win.
A voice announcing that the first contest was about to begin interrupted his thoughts. The next thing he knew he was standing alone in a large grassy field. He didn't see anything around him except for a broomstick.
A broomstick!
He smiled widely. The first challenge was flying. Harry mounted the broomstick and flew around until he found the obstacle course set up in the air. There was an obvious starting and ending point so Harry surmised that it was a timed trial. Before crossing the starting line he examined all the obstacles that he could see from his current vantage point. His smile brightened and he silently praised Hermione for setting up the courses for he and Ron that day the Dementors arrived.
Harry breezed through the course flying through hoops of fire, over barriers, and under tree limbs climbing and diving as the course dictated. He raced faster and faster following the path momentarily forgetting that the fate of the Order of the Phoenix rested on his performance. He knew he would win this one. He punched his fist through the air on his way down to the ground. He was starting to think that he could actually win. He had his share of doubts, especially since he only won the TriWizard Cup because two different wizards were cheating on his behalf. But now, now it was different.
As soon as his feet touched down on the ground he was transported back to his room with the glass ceiling. Before he even inhaled one single breath of air he looked up at the scoreboard expectantly. It still read all 0s. He went to sit down against the wall again without ever once taking his eyes off the scoreboard. He didn't have to wait long. As he was sliding down the wall he saw the score change. Two thirds of it remained the same but now the giant green lettering read "Harry Potter - 1".
He punched the air again and let out a small whoop. Harry, grinning like a maniac, waved to the now familiar snake that had appeared in his room.
"Congratulationsssss Harry Potter. When I leave you may eat and relax. You cannot prepare for the next challenge therefore I recommend that you take it easssssy."
Harry started to ask the snake something when it vanished. In its place were a plate of sandwiches and a jug of water. Deciding that if they wanted to harm him they would have by now, Harry decided to trust the food. He tucked in heartily to the plate of sandwiches.
Harry let his mind wander as he aimlessly continued eating. A voice announcing that the second task was now complete gained Harry's full attention. He hadn't even gotten to participate, how could it be over? He began shouting questions until the usual snake appeared in his room.
"Harry Potter, you have a concern?"
"You bet I have a concern. The scoreboard says that the Death Eater has one point and the voice said the second task was over."
"What isssss your concern?"
"What do you mean what is my concern? I never even got to participate. It wasn't fair."
"The sssssecond chore was a look into your sssssoul to determine the one mosssst underhanded thing you have ever done. I'm afraid the Death Eater effectively keeping hisssss sssssecret for all the yearsssss that he hasssss made him the undeniable winner. The competition will begin again within the hour."
And with that, the snake vanished leaving a fuming Harry behind. The only good thing out of all that was that Harry was now surer than ever that this Death Eater was the one at Hogwarts.
It was time to calm himself down. It would do no good to dwell on what he could not change. Harry tried to force his brain to come up with what the third task would be. He couldn't get a handle on what the Order of the Serpents prized. It wasn't pure evil or Harry wouldn't have had a chance yet it did value sneakiness. He continued to think about what this Order prized trying to gain some insight on how to win the next three tasks.
Soon enough, Harry found himself transported to what looked like a Muggle shooting gallery --- (he saw something like it once on a television show at Mrs Figg's house). He was looking around when suddenly a silhouette popped up. Harry noted that it was brandishing its wand menacingly toward him so Harry sent a curse at it. Targets kept popping up and Harry kept disposing of them. After twenty or so targets, Harry found himself back in his room. He wasn't sure how quick he was but he felt pretty good about how he had done. The scoreboard didn't yet reflect the winner of the third trial.
Within minutes, the scoreboard changed. The score was now tied. All three players had one point. Harry was about to call for the snake when it appeared on its own.
"Yesssss Harry Potter?"
"How did Voldemort win the trial?"
"The trial wasssss a timed trial. When he sssssaw the initial target, he blew up the entire building. Although the technique wasssss unorthodox, it did obliterate all twenty targetsssss in record time."
Harry felt his jaw drop. "He gets rewarded for needlessly blowing up a building?"
"He annihilated every target. The fourth challenge will begin within the half hour." The snake had vanished again leaving Harry trying harder than ever to determine what the Order of the Serpents prized.
Not too long after the snake disappeared, so did Harry. This time he was transported to a place along side hundreds of snakes. The first thing that was obvious to him was that he was in some sort of giant crater. Obviously, he needed to get out of it although he wished he knew what the deal was with all the snakes. The second thing that was obvious to him, when he went to reach for it, was that he didn't have his wand.
Now he understood the purpose of the snakes. He was going to have to convince them to help him if he was ever going to climb out of the giant crater.
An hour and fourteen tries later, he was holding on to a snake with one hand and grabbing the rim with the other. Finally, he pulled himself out of the crater. He barely had time to thank all of the snakes before he was transported back into his room.
The scoreboard remained unchanged for a few minutes before it finally reflected the fourth task. Harry was surprised to learn that the score was still tied, this time with two points each. Again, the snake appeared.
"How can we be tied? Wasn't it based on time like the first task?"
"No Harry Potter. That would not be fair sssssince you three are different heightsssss. We just need to know that our leader can be effective with sssssnakesssss."
"Oh, so it was a pass/fail type of chore?"
The snake nodded. "Harry Potter, eat and take a nap. The fifth and final trial will be in a few hoursssss."
A/N -Read, enjoy, and review. Although I will say that it was hard getting motivated to write this chapter --- with only 5 reviews from the last one.
Chapter 53
First Four
Since this had happened to him once before, Harry immediately knew that he had fallen into the book that he had picked up in Dumbledore's office. Right away, he looked around to take in his surroundings. He was in alone in a well-lit square room that was ten feet tall and wide. The walls were white and had no distinguishing features. The light actually surprised Harry because he couldn't detect its source. Looking up to the ceiling, he noted that there was no fixture up there. Nor were there candles or even a window that would account for the light. Noticing the absence of a window he began searching for the door. In the ten by ten room, it took him next to no time to realize that there was no door.
"Hello," he called out hoping someone would answer him. He held his breath and strained his hearing trying to listen for any type of response or even a noise of some type. Nothing.
"HELLO," he tried again except shouting this time. But again he got no response.
Realizing that he was trapped in this doorless and windowless room, Harry pulled out his wand. Unfortunately he wasn't sure which spell would help him escape. His mind briefly wandered back to that day so many years ago when he first heard Hermione perform the Alohamora spell in the third floor corridor. He allowed himself a brief smile at the memory before forcing his brain to consider the problem at hand. Since there was no door or window to open, he knew that spell would not help him. Finally he decided to just try to blast a hole through the wall.
BANG
Whatever Harry had expected it wasn't for the spell to be reflected off the wall right back at him. His own spell had rebounded off the wall and hit him squarely in the chest. The force of it knocked him back several feet where he crashed into the opposite wall. He shook his head in an attempt to make himself more aware. Unsure what to do now that he was loathe to cast another spell, he let himself slide down along the wall until his was sitting with his back against it in an effort to relax. Every now and then he would shout out a greeting just in case but he wasn't really surprised when time after time he never got a response.
Harry wasn't really sure how long he sat there along the wall. It felt like days but he knew that it was probably more like three or four hours. He vowed to himself to replace his watch just as soon as he got out of this room. Truth be told, he didn't know why he still wore the watch that he'd broken during the second task last year. But at least he was thinking about something besides this stupid room.
Finally, another being appeared in the room with him. It wasn't a person though, it was a snake. As a matter of fact, it looked a lot like the snake he talked to the last time he fell into a book.
"Greetingsssss Harry Potter," the snake offered as a type of introduction.
"Er --- hello," Harry answered shyly.
"Do you know why you are here?"
"I think so. To become the leader of the Order of the Serpents?"
Harry had never actually seen a snake laugh before so he couldn't be certain if the snake in front of him was really laughing at him or not but he was pretty sure that it was. He replayed the brief conversation in his mind quickly deciding that he hadn't said anything funny. He waited, wearing a slight scowl, for the snake to continue --- which he finally did.
"Harry Potter, you have to earn the right to become our leader. You are not the only perssssson up for the honor."
"I know. You already showed me that anyone that can speak Parseltongue could become the leader. I know that means that it's me and Voldemort right? What do we have to do? Do we have to duel? Is it to the death? When do we start? Is Voldemort here?"
Harry couldn't believe that he was rambling on in front of a snake but he couldn't clamp his mouth down on the thoughts that wouldn't leave his head since he found out about his task. The snake had listened patiently to the questions before answering although Harry once again thought the snake was laughing at him.
"There will be no duel Harry Potter. We have found that too many people have died during the duelsssss robbing the Order of potentially valuable membersssss. Even when we placed extra precautionsssss on the duel the lossssser, and even the winner, usssssually died. I think it might have sssssomething to do with the type of people that we often attract for our potential leadersssss."
The snake paused allowing Harry time to process what he had just learned. He had to admit that he was slightly relieved that he wouldn't have to duel Voldemort just yet. Even though he seldom said it out loud, he didn't really think that he could take on the Dark Lord and win at this time of his life. Although now he was curious what he would have to do instead. He turned his full attention back to the snake practically willing him to continue, which he did.
"You will participate in five tasssssksssss. Whoever claimsssss victory in a majority out of the five will become the leader of our Order. Now the three of you --- "
"THREE???"
"Yesssss. Three. Thisssss sssssurprisssssesssss you?"
"Of course it surprises me. You said you have to speak Parseltongue to be eligible. Only Voldemort and I can do that. Everyone knows that."
"No. That wasssss once true but no longer. You are correct that one of the participantsssss callsssss himssssself Lord Voldemort. I believe that Voldemort gave the ability to one other than you. The third competitor here callsssss himssssself Death Eater."
"Who is it?"
"Who isssss what Harry Potter?"
"Who is the Death Eater?" Harry asked thinking it was the most obvious question in the world.
"It isssss not important. He callsssss himssssself Death Eater so we too will call him Death Eater. Now if I can be allowed to continue?"
Harry automatically nodded. After all, there was no point in being rude to this snake. Even though it laughed at him occasionally, it did seem to be on his side --- or at least not against him. That counted a lot to Harry considering he was in an unknown place about to do unknown things to try to become the leader of an Order he knew very little about. He gave the snake his full attention.
"The three of you will compete in five individual tasssssksssss. We will keep track of the winner through that ssssscoreboard." The snake used his head to indicate that Harry should look up. The ceiling had been replaced with glass. Even though the walls stood ten feet high, Harry was able to see quite a lot through the glass ceiling.
First, he saw the scoreboard that the snake had referred to. It was enormous. On the scoreboard he read three names listed one right under the other. On it in giant green letters he read, "Lord Voldemort", "Harry Potter", and "Death Eater". Each of them had a "0" beside their respective names.
Secondly he saw lots and lots of people wearing black robes and masks. He could only guess that these masked figures were all members of the Order. They were all looking at something that Harry couldn't see. The snake followed his gaze thereby noticing that he was trying to determine what everyone was looking at.
"They are watching a monitor that no competitor can sssssee. We do many thingsssss to make certain that our leader utilizesssss an honorable tactic. Initially, given that people can be bribed or threatened, we sssssnakesssss run the entire proceeding now. Additionally, we have the monitor that all the membersssss watch while a potential leader isssss performing one of the five tasksssss but we do not allow you all to watch each other. Finally we make all potential leadersssss enter into a Wizard'sssss Wager with each other."
Harry was extremely shocked at this last stipulation. "A Wiz --- Wizard's wager?" He managed to ask.
"Yesssss --- You do know what all that entailsssss, do you not Harry Potter?"
"Yes I do." Harry once again marveled at his Headmaster's insight. Was it a coincidence or did Dumbledore some how know that Harry would need to know about a Wizard's Wager? Dumbledore was an amazing old man. Harry smiled to himself as he waited for the snake to continue. Just before the snake continued with the details, another question occurred to Harry.
"How can I enter into a Wizard's Wager with someone whose name I don't know? That hardly strikes me as fair."
"Sssssmart man. We would do well with you leading the Order. Ancient Magic will bind the two who are defeated. Do not worry with that. Ancient Magic isssss why no one can cheat, why you can't throw a ssssspell in thisssss room and why the top wizard will be picked."
"Hello." Harry greeted the second snake that had suddenly appeared in the room. The new snake was carrying a parchment in its mouth. Harry could tell that the snake wanted him to take the parchment so he did. It was the Wizard's Wager document. Harry looked back to the new snake, which did nothing except point to the document in Harry's hand. He looked down and read it out loud.
"As time and again it has been proven dangerous for our competitors to be in the same room together, the rule about tapping each others wands is exempted. Instead, the wizard needs to tap this document twice to signify his or her willingness to enter into this wager. Entering the wager is required for any wizard to compete for the honor of becoming the leader. The terms of the wager are thus: if you win you will become the leader of the Order of the Serpents. If you lose, you will remain or become a member of the Order of the Serpents. Tap this parchment twice if you agree to these terms."
That was all it said. Harry looked up to the two snakes. They waited patiently for his decision. Harry, however, realized that he had no decision to make --- not really. He had to win this to keep the Order of the Phoenix intact. He had to win this so he could be near Sirius, Dumbledore and the others. He pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment twice.
A date time stamp appeared on the contract along with a new bit of writing that Harry read. "If Harry Potter forfeits his terms of the contract he will forfeit the rest of his wizarding education including but not limited to all Hogwarts courses, Quidditch clinics, and advanced degrees."
Harry didn't relish the thought of that at all. He couldn't imagine living in the wizarding world without being able to become an Unspeakable like his parents, or attend Auror training, or even go to a Quidditch lesson. Harry continued to stare at the parchment until some movement caught his eye.
The same snake that brought in the parchment slithered over and spit at it. This action confused Harry until he realized that it served as the witness mark. The snake grabbed the parchment in his mouth and disappeared. Harry turned numbly to the remaining snake.
"You haven't much time left before we begin. Good luck Harry Potter. I will leave you to prepare yourssssself."
And with that, Harry was left alone in his room. He sat against the wall again looking through the glass ceiling. He wondered briefly who the Death Eater was but really his mind turned to the five tasks. He kept telling himself that if he could do the Tri-Wizarding Championship then he could do this. Finally, he turned his mind's attention into reviewing all the spells he had learned during the last year getting ready for his third task.
In less than one hour's time, Harry noticed something new by the scoreboard. A monster-sized version of the contract Harry had signed was floating next to the scoreboard, just to the left of it. Harry looked at it so he could see what the other two risked. Harry was pleased to see that Voldemort would forfeit his immortality. He wondered if there was any way that he could get Voldemort to re-nig on the contract. After all, he reasoned, that would be one of the best possible outcomes.
He read on to see what the other wizard was risking. "If Death Eater forfeits his terms of the contract he will have his deepest secret revealed."
Deepest secret revealed? That didn't really seem that fair. After all, Harry would gladly have any of his secrets revealed instead of forfeiting his right to any further wizarding education. Harry wondered what could be so important to a Death Eater to keep hidden unless ---
"He's got to be the Death Eater at Hogwarts," Harry reasoned to himself. He felt himself starting to get red in the face. His hands were clutched into fists. Right in this very building were probably the two darkest wizards in the world and not only could he not get at them, he couldn't even see them. The logical side of himself, reminded the rest of him that it was this same barrier that kept Harry's scar from hurting, allowing him at least a chance to win.
A voice announcing that the first contest was about to begin interrupted his thoughts. The next thing he knew he was standing alone in a large grassy field. He didn't see anything around him except for a broomstick.
A broomstick!
He smiled widely. The first challenge was flying. Harry mounted the broomstick and flew around until he found the obstacle course set up in the air. There was an obvious starting and ending point so Harry surmised that it was a timed trial. Before crossing the starting line he examined all the obstacles that he could see from his current vantage point. His smile brightened and he silently praised Hermione for setting up the courses for he and Ron that day the Dementors arrived.
Harry breezed through the course flying through hoops of fire, over barriers, and under tree limbs climbing and diving as the course dictated. He raced faster and faster following the path momentarily forgetting that the fate of the Order of the Phoenix rested on his performance. He knew he would win this one. He punched his fist through the air on his way down to the ground. He was starting to think that he could actually win. He had his share of doubts, especially since he only won the TriWizard Cup because two different wizards were cheating on his behalf. But now, now it was different.
As soon as his feet touched down on the ground he was transported back to his room with the glass ceiling. Before he even inhaled one single breath of air he looked up at the scoreboard expectantly. It still read all 0s. He went to sit down against the wall again without ever once taking his eyes off the scoreboard. He didn't have to wait long. As he was sliding down the wall he saw the score change. Two thirds of it remained the same but now the giant green lettering read "Harry Potter - 1".
He punched the air again and let out a small whoop. Harry, grinning like a maniac, waved to the now familiar snake that had appeared in his room.
"Congratulationsssss Harry Potter. When I leave you may eat and relax. You cannot prepare for the next challenge therefore I recommend that you take it easssssy."
Harry started to ask the snake something when it vanished. In its place were a plate of sandwiches and a jug of water. Deciding that if they wanted to harm him they would have by now, Harry decided to trust the food. He tucked in heartily to the plate of sandwiches.
Harry let his mind wander as he aimlessly continued eating. A voice announcing that the second task was now complete gained Harry's full attention. He hadn't even gotten to participate, how could it be over? He began shouting questions until the usual snake appeared in his room.
"Harry Potter, you have a concern?"
"You bet I have a concern. The scoreboard says that the Death Eater has one point and the voice said the second task was over."
"What isssss your concern?"
"What do you mean what is my concern? I never even got to participate. It wasn't fair."
"The sssssecond chore was a look into your sssssoul to determine the one mosssst underhanded thing you have ever done. I'm afraid the Death Eater effectively keeping hisssss sssssecret for all the yearsssss that he hasssss made him the undeniable winner. The competition will begin again within the hour."
And with that, the snake vanished leaving a fuming Harry behind. The only good thing out of all that was that Harry was now surer than ever that this Death Eater was the one at Hogwarts.
It was time to calm himself down. It would do no good to dwell on what he could not change. Harry tried to force his brain to come up with what the third task would be. He couldn't get a handle on what the Order of the Serpents prized. It wasn't pure evil or Harry wouldn't have had a chance yet it did value sneakiness. He continued to think about what this Order prized trying to gain some insight on how to win the next three tasks.
Soon enough, Harry found himself transported to what looked like a Muggle shooting gallery --- (he saw something like it once on a television show at Mrs Figg's house). He was looking around when suddenly a silhouette popped up. Harry noted that it was brandishing its wand menacingly toward him so Harry sent a curse at it. Targets kept popping up and Harry kept disposing of them. After twenty or so targets, Harry found himself back in his room. He wasn't sure how quick he was but he felt pretty good about how he had done. The scoreboard didn't yet reflect the winner of the third trial.
Within minutes, the scoreboard changed. The score was now tied. All three players had one point. Harry was about to call for the snake when it appeared on its own.
"Yesssss Harry Potter?"
"How did Voldemort win the trial?"
"The trial wasssss a timed trial. When he sssssaw the initial target, he blew up the entire building. Although the technique wasssss unorthodox, it did obliterate all twenty targetsssss in record time."
Harry felt his jaw drop. "He gets rewarded for needlessly blowing up a building?"
"He annihilated every target. The fourth challenge will begin within the half hour." The snake had vanished again leaving Harry trying harder than ever to determine what the Order of the Serpents prized.
Not too long after the snake disappeared, so did Harry. This time he was transported to a place along side hundreds of snakes. The first thing that was obvious to him was that he was in some sort of giant crater. Obviously, he needed to get out of it although he wished he knew what the deal was with all the snakes. The second thing that was obvious to him, when he went to reach for it, was that he didn't have his wand.
Now he understood the purpose of the snakes. He was going to have to convince them to help him if he was ever going to climb out of the giant crater.
An hour and fourteen tries later, he was holding on to a snake with one hand and grabbing the rim with the other. Finally, he pulled himself out of the crater. He barely had time to thank all of the snakes before he was transported back into his room.
The scoreboard remained unchanged for a few minutes before it finally reflected the fourth task. Harry was surprised to learn that the score was still tied, this time with two points each. Again, the snake appeared.
"How can we be tied? Wasn't it based on time like the first task?"
"No Harry Potter. That would not be fair sssssince you three are different heightsssss. We just need to know that our leader can be effective with sssssnakesssss."
"Oh, so it was a pass/fail type of chore?"
The snake nodded. "Harry Potter, eat and take a nap. The fifth and final trial will be in a few hoursssss."