Disclaimer: Ladies and gentlemen, the news you've all been waiting for: I still don't own Harry Potter! I bet I tricked you there. I bet you all thought for a second that a college freshman who routinely rips JKR for her colossal fuckups actually managed to secure the rights to Harry Potter. Lol, got you. I don't own Harry Potter; I'm just doing this for fun.
Chapter 66
"Potter," Professor McGonagall spoke from behind him at breakfast. He turned in his seat, as did Hermione, who was seated next to him. "The champions are congregating in the chamber off the Great Hall after breakfast."
"But the task isn't until tonight!" Hermione gasped, her hand darting out to clutch Harry's wrist.
"I'm aware of that, Miss Granger," McGonagall sighed. "Do not fret, my dear. Mister Potter is not being summoned for the task itself; the champion's families are invited to watch the final task, and this is a chance for him to greet them."
"Families?" Harry perked up. "Is Sirius here?"
McGonagall let out a long exhale before nodding. "Yes, Sirius Black is back on the Hogwarts grounds. I suspect my blood pressure will rise considerably over the course of today because of it."
Harry couldn't help but grin as his Head of House walked off. He turned to Hermione, who was also smiling widely. "I guess I'll see you at lunch?" He said, taking both of her hands in his. She nodded. "I would wish you luck on your History of Magic exam, but you can easily get an Outstanding without any luck whatsoever."
"Oh, stop it," She smiled down at her lap. "I'll see you back here at lunch. Give Sirius my best."
"Will do," Harry winked, squeezing her hands before getting up and exiting the Great Hall. He ran into Fleur in the entrance hall as they made their way towards the chamber.
"Do you 'ave family visiting?" She asked, genuinely interested.
"My godfather," Harry nodded. "You?"
"My parents. And Gabrielle, too," She smirked. "She eez quite excited to see you again. She babbles in all her letters about ze 'eroic 'Arry Potter."
Harry just grimaced, to which Fleur laughed as she opened the door. They entered the chamber and Fleur immediately moved off towards her family. Harry saw Gabrielle sprint away from a couple – the Delacours, he presumed – conversing in rapid-fire French and leap into her sister's arms, waving at Harry over her shoulder. He waved back, smiling as he turned and surveyed the rest of the room. Krum was talking to his parents in Bulgarian while Cedric was laughing with his own parents.
Then he saw Sirius standing in front of the fireplace, flanked by Lupin and Tonks.
Harry just stood there, his face threatening to split in half as he grinned from ear to ear.
"Miss us?" Sirius beamed as he dashed over and wrapped his godson up in a hug. The moment he let go, Harry was subjected to another fierce hug, this one from Tonks, followed by one from Lupin as well.
"I can't believe you all came," Harry said, awestruck.
"That's what she –" Sirius began before Lupin elbowed him in the ribs, cutting him off.
"I thought I'd come and see what all the fuss of this tournament is about," Tonks smirked. "It better be worth it, because you would not believe the hassle it takes to get a weekday off as an Auror," She added, ruffling Harry's hair.
"I'm surprised you're sticking around for the task," He fired back with a smirk of his own. "Don't people your age usually get the early bird special and go to bed at six?"
"You're lucky there are witnesses right now," The pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes before turning to scan the room around them. "Haven't been in this castle in four years, though. I missed it."
"Would you mind showing us around?" Sirius asked eagerly. "I haven't seen much of the castle since I graduated."
"Sounds great," Harry grinned, leading them out of the chamber. As they passed various rooms and corridors, Harry gave brief recapitulations of adventures he had undergone over the years. He smiled fondly as they passed the bathroom where he and Hermione had faced a troll in their first year.
"You spend a lot of time in girls' restrooms, Harry?" Tonks snickered after he finished telling that story, and Harry decided to not mention the month he spent brewing Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
After they toured the castle – and Sirius and Lupin showed Harry a few secret passages he did not previously know about – they meandered back down to the Great Hall for lunch.
The moment they entered, Lupin was swarmed by students who wanted to express how much they missed him as a professor. He humbly accepted their compliments and quickly sat next to Tonks, across from Harry, Hermione, and Sirius.
"So this is what it's like to sit at the Gryffindor table," Tonks mused as she watched the Weasley twins try to engage Angelina and Alicia into a food fight. "So uncivilized."
"Hey, are you the Metamorphmagus girl Harry talks about?" Seamus asked as he sat down with Dean, Ron, and Neville.
"I doubt this nerd knows any other Metamorphmagi, so yeah," She shrugged, smirking as Harry kicked her shin under the table.
"Can you give yourself blonde hair?" He asked eagerly. When Tonks obliged, he grinned. "Wicked…so you can change anything about yourself?"
"Don't be gross," Harry balled up his napkin and tossed it at his housemate with a scowl. "Sorry, Tonks, he's been a bit of a berk ever since Lavender Brown dumped him."
"It was mutual!" Seamus protested. Lavender, who was just a few seats down, rolled her eyes at that.
"Ignore Mister Finnegan," Lupin whispered to the Metamorphmagus. "The Tonks we all know and cherish does not need to change a thing for anyone."
Harry did not miss how his unofficial big sister blushed at that.
When lunch wrapped up, Harry wished Hermione luck on her last exam while he and the adults took a lengthy walk around the lake before returning for the evening feast.
The entirety of Gryffindor was elated to see the return of the three adults at dinner. Tonks performed several impressions of Hogwarts teachers – her rendition of Snape singing in the shower was met with so much laughter that even Dumbledore was chuckling from the faculty table – while Lupin and Sirius reminisced to an enthralled audience about their more noteworthy escapades as students.
Eventually, the champions were dismissed five minutes prior to the conclusion of dinner, and Hermione offered to walk Harry to the entrance hall. They left the Gryffindor table to thunderous applause, and once they reached the doors to the castle they paused, letting the other champions walk ahead.
"I hope you don't mind…" Hermione reached into the pocket of her robes and extracted a piece of parchment. Harry tilted his head in confusion before he realized what she was holding – the Marauder's Map. "Sirius suggested it during lunch, so I grabbed it after my exam. We'll sit in the top row and I'll be discreet so nobody else sees it, but this way I can watch you move about since we won't be able to see much from the stands."
"That's brilliant," Harry smiled. "Maybe I'll send you a signal at some point, to let you know I'm doing alright."
"That'd be nice," She whispered, looking down at the parchment in her hands for a beat before pocketing it. She turned to face him and took several deep breaths as if composing herself. "Remember the Four Point Spell," She said matter-of-factly. Harry nodded. "And don't forget about the Supersensory Charm. And all of the defensive spells we've been working on."
"I'll remember," Harry smiled. "I'm coming back to you, Hermione, don't worry," He said softly, cupping her face with both of his hands. She blushed under his intense gaze, but she did not avert her eyes. "No matter what I come across in that maze, I will come back to you."
"You better," She murmured, leaning into his touch. "I won't survive if you don't."
"I won't let that happen," He reassured her. Then, he smirked. "I can see it now, you know. I come waltzing out of the maze with the Triwizard Cup in my hand, and you and I reenact that little show we put on after Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup last year."
"Oh?" A giggle escaped her lips. "Going to snog me senseless in front of everyone, are you?"
"Maybe," He shrugged, his thumbs tracing circles on her cheeks. "If I still have that Supersensory Charm on, I think it'll be quite the experience."
"Hopefully I don't kiss you so hard you pass out," She said coquettishly.
"Hey, if that happens, the world will finally know that you really are an insatiable kiss monster."
Hermione responded to that by grabbing his collar and pulling him into a deep kiss. Harry's hands never left her face, even as they pulled away from each other and panted.
"I love you," He whispered.
"I love you too," She bit her lip, her lips threatening to curve into a giddy smile. "Now go win this tournament so we can do that again soon."
Grinning, Harry turned on his heel and strode out of the castle and towards the Quidditch pitch, feeling as if he was floating as he walked. He joined the rest of the champions and Ludo Bagman and waited for the stands to fill, trying to ignore the wink Fleur set in his direction when she spotted the dreamy look on his face.
He watched Hermione, Sirius, Tonks, Lupin, and the rest of the Gryffindor Gang filter into the topmost row. He waved, and they all beamed and cheered their hearts out in response.
After a few more minutes, Bagman began his introductions and concluded by blowing his whistle. Taking one last deep breath, Harry took off into the maze.
As soon as he was surrounded by the hedges, he used the Supersensory Charm on himself, feeling a surge of triumph as his vision sharpened and his hearing improved exponentially. With his improved senses and his head start, he was growing more and more confident that he was going to be first to reach the cup.
His first obstacle was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but that had been near the top of Hermione's list of potential creatures. He aimed his wand at it and bellowed "Alarte Ascendere!"
The enormous creature was lifted a few meters off the ground, and Harry promptly aimed for its fleshy underside and hit it with the Impediment Jinx. The creature was immobilized for a few seconds, which gave Harry enough time to skirt around it and take the next turn.
His next obstacle was what looked – and smelled, thanks to his heightened senses – like a swamp that had been placed in the middle of the ground. Upon closer inspection, Harry spotted a Kappa waiting within the depths, hoping that a human would wander into the water. Shaking his head, Harry stood up straight and moved back from the edge, aiming his wand at the murky water.
"Glacius!"
A jet of icy blue light shot out of his wand and collided with the water, freezing and solidifying it within seconds. He slowly crossed the now-frozen surface, gripping the brambles of the hedges to avoid slipping and falling, before casting a Hot-Air Charm and returning the swamp to its original state once he was back on solid ground.
After a few minutes of running in the darkening maze, he whirled around a corner and froze in his tracks.
"Hermione?" He gasped. "W-what are you doing here?" He asked, dumbstruck. Hermione Granger was standing just a few feet in front of him, looking exactly as she had when he had last seen her before entering the maze. But there was something wrong; her expression was one of terror and anguish.
"I…" Her voice cracked. She stepped towards him, but she suddenly cried out in pain. Harry's heart leaped into his throat and he tried to ask her what was wrong, but his voice gave up on him. Hermione's hands rushed up to her neck, and his stomach plummeted as he watched blood spout out from between her fingers, dripping down from what must have been a horrific wound. "I tried…to save you…" She whimpered, sinking to her knees. Harry could not even bring himself to blink; his entire body had seized up in sheer terror. He had never felt so paralyzed, so terrified, so useless as he watched the girl he loved bleed out right in front of him. A second later, she slumped over. What had happened to her? How had she even –
Without warning, Hermione disappeared. She vanished into thin air for a split-second, only for a twelve-foot-tall wraith to begin hovering just where she had been kneeling. A dementor.
But dementors did not spontaneously appear out of nowhere, and nobody, not even the brightest witch he knew, was capable of Disapparition on the Hogwarts grounds. Harry realized with a jolt that Hermione Granger had never been in the maze; he had come across a Boggart. He immediately snapped out of his panicked state and pointed his wand at the Boggart in front of him.
"Expecto Patronum!" He hollered. Instantly, his silver stag came rushing out and sent the quasi-dementor flying backwards. Once Harry deemed it far away enough, he directed his wand straight upwards. Immediately, the stag galloped towards the heavens, ascending the hedges as if uninhibited by gravity. It leapt once it reached the top of the hedge and hovered in midair for a few seconds before disappearing.
"There's your signal, Hermione," He whispered, relief flooding through him as he realized that she was still safe in the spectators' stands.
A few minutes later, the sun disappeared below the horizon entirely, and Harry was forced to mutter Lumos just so he could see where he was going. He encountered a patch of Limbo Mist, but that had been one of the few enchantments he remembered researching in the library over the past month with Hermione, and he sprinted through it with no problem.
After a few more turns and several uses of the Four Point Spell, he stumbled across a path that led him directly northwest. It would have been the perfect route for him to take, except for the fact that an enormous Acromantula was blocking it. All eight of its beady eyes locked onto Harry, and before he knew it the beast was scuttling towards him at a frighteningly fast rate.
"Stupefy!" The spell bounced harmlessly off the monster's hide. "IMPEDIMENTIA! IMMOBULUS!"
His attempts were in vain, and in the time it took Harry to cast those spells, the Acromantula had halved the distance between them. He considered turning around and fleeing, but the hedges had grown sentient and formed a wall behind him, trapping him in the narrow path with the giant spider.
Panicking, he turned towards the solid hedge on his left and pointed his wand at it. "CONFRINGO!"
The branches and brambles were blasted to smithereens, leaving a gaping hole in the once impermeable barrier. He leapt through the gap, ducking out of the Acromantula's reach and sprinting away. After about of minute of running as hard as he could, he came upon a dead-end and decided to backtrack to see if the Acromantula was still blocking the northwest path. Mercifully, the spider was out of sight when he returned, and Harry resumed his straight shot towards the center of the maze.
After only a minute or two of jogging, he reached a wide clearing and skidded to a stop in surprise. There, sitting ten meters in front of him on a marble pedestal, was the Triwizard Cup, gleaming in the darkness like a beacon of victory.
He had done it. He had reached the center of the maze. He had reached the cup first, and he was going to win the Triwizard Tournament.
As he stood and took a moment to catch his breath, an unbelievable sense of elation washed over him. He had been forced into this tournament, mocked by the majority of his peers, disregarded as a cheater and a liar, and expected to fail miserably, even die a gruesome death for all to see. Now, he was the one who was going to walk out of the maze holding the Triwizard Cup.
He would be kidding himself if he said it was not gratifying to think about.
Images of himself holding the cup aloft in one hand while he wrapped the other arm around Hermione's waist flashed through his head, along with images of Sirius, Tonks, and Lupin cheering and applauding him from the stands. He imagined Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson and their cronies scowling and sulking while the entire house of Gryffindor partied like there was no tomorrow; he imagined Professor McGonagall cracking a rare smile; he imagined Fleur and Cedric and Krum congratulating him on his triumph; he imagined all sorts of happy thoughts until he was practically bursting with sheer glee.
With a smile that could span an ocean, Harry sheathed his wand back into his holster and closed the distance between himself and the Triwizard Cup at a full sprint. He didn't even bother to slow down, grabbing both of the trophy's handles at full speed as he let out a whoop of victory.
Instantly, he felt a jerk from somewhere behind his navel, a sensation he had not felt in ten months, not since he had traveled to the Quidditch World Cup with Sirius and Hermione. His feet left the ground and the maze vanished in a swirl of color and a rush of howling wind.
His body slammed into a grassy ground after a few seconds of utter chaos, his torso colliding with the metal frame of the Triwizard Cup that had broken his fall. An ugly crunch signaled that he had probably broken a rib or two, and the accompanying pain – exacerbated by the Supersensory Charm – was so excruciating that he could only lay limply on the ground until his vision faded to black a few seconds later.
A bloodcurdling scream brought him back into the world of consciousness, but when the agony in his ribcage returned in full force, he wished he had stayed blacked out. He groaned and instinctively tried to massage where it hurt, but he was immobilized. He was bound by tight ropes – which only worsened the pain in his ribs – from his neck to his ankles against a white marble structure. Harry glanced around at his surroundings and realized that based on the dilapidated graves around him that he had been tied to a headstone. Wherever he was, it was not a place he recognized; must have traveled far away from Hogwarts.
His eyes landed on a hooded figure a few meters in front of him, cradling a stump of an arm and whimpering in anguish; Harry realized that the figure had been the source of the scream that had woken him up. Then, suddenly, the figure turned, and Harry caught sight of its face and recognized it immediately.
"You!" He growled as he locked eyes with Peter Pettigrew. Wormtail said nothing, instead lumbering over towards him, a blood-covered dagger clutched in his remaining hand. Harry immediately began thrashing against his restraints, but doing so only worsened the pain in his chest and did nothing to free him. The blade pierced through the sleeve of his jersey, gliding down agonizingly slowly from the crook of his arm to halfway to his wrist.
He watched Wormtail gather a few drops of his blood and retreat back towards the cauldron, depositing the red liquid into the bubbling substance.
"B-blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will resurrect your foe," Wormtail said in a shaking voice. As soon as the words were uttered, a thick white steam began billowing out of the cauldron, obscuring everything from view as if somebody had cast the Smokescreen Spell. As the vapor poured into the air, a blinding pain emerged from Harry's scar, growing more and more painful as the smoke continued to swirl across the graveyard. The pain in his ribs was nothing compared to this pain, and he expected his head to split apart at any moment.
As the pain in his scar continued to throb, a sickening feeling came about in Harry's gut as he realized exactly who his foe was, and who was going to be resurrected before his very eyes. After a few seconds of deafening silence, the mist dissipated, and Harry saw with an icy surge of terror that Lord Voldemort had risen again.
Harry watched, unable to do a thing, as Voldemort pressed a spindly white finger to the Dark Mark on Wormtail's arm. Immediately, the pain in his scar – which had begun to gradually ebb away – returned with a vengeance, and he had to bite his lip so hard he drew blood in order to keep from crying out. Voldemort's eyes shifted from the tattoo to Harry, and a malicious smile materialized on his snake-like face.
"Harry Potter," He hissed in a cold voice that sent shivers down his spine. "How wonderful of you to join us."
"Fuck you."
Voldemort just laughed, but the sound was not cheerful at all; it grated on Harry's nerves like nails on a chalkboard. "Harry, that simply won't do. You may be the guest of honor, but you still ought to treat a superior such as myself with respect." He drew his wand and pointed it right at Harry's chest. "Crucio!"
The pain in his ribs was a walk in the park compared to the complete and utter agony that enveloped Harry's entire body. He convulsed and writhed against the cords that imprisoned him; his very bones were on fire as the spell ripped through his body with no mercy. His scar hurt so much he expected his head to split open at any moment, and for a split-second he found himself craving an end to the pain, craving death.
"I'm coming back to you, Hermione, don't worry."
He forced himself to think about Hermione, about getting home. Through the pain, he told himself that he did not crave death. He did not wish to die in a graveyard, miles away from Hogwarts, from his friends and family. He wanted to escape this nightmare, not perish during it.
No matter what, he would get back to Hogwarts, to Hermione. He would suffer the Cruciatus Curse, if that was what needed to be done. He would take on Voldemort and every single one of his Death Eaters, if that was what needed to be done. He would crawl back a bruised and bloody mess, if that was what needed to be done.
"What do you say, Harry Potter?" Voldemort taunted, flicking his wand. The pain ceased, and Harry let out a series of gasping breaths as he hung limply against the ropes. "Have we learned our manners?"
Clenching his jaw, Harry forced his shaking legs to support his weight as he stood up straight. He met the emotionless red slits of the man who murdered his parents and spat blood onto the ground. "Is that the best you can do?"
Voldemort cackled again, and Harry snarled in response.
"Who are you trying to impress, Potter?" He sneered as he continued to laugh, pacing in front of the headstone. "Nobody here will be awed by your resilience. You have no friends here, while I have plenty." He flicked his arms outwards with a flourish; Harry looked around and realized that nearly three dozen people had Apparated to the graveyard within the last few minutes. The Supersensory Charm had clearly faded over the past few minutes or else he would have noticed their arrivals, but he decided that the spell wearing off was a blessing considering the spell Voldemort had just used on him.
All around him, hooded and masked figures much like those from the Quidditch World Cup marched towards Voldemort. Harry could do nothing but stand and listen to Voldemort address his followers, first scolding them for their abandonment and then promising a return to the old ways in the near future.
"And of course, Harry Potter," His voice was anything but human as he turned back to the headstone. "Only alive because of the sacrifice of his filthy Muggle mother," His eyes narrowed. "Her sacrifice activated an old magic I should have foreseen, a magic that forbid me from harming him, from even touching him." He chuckled, lifting a hand and extending one of his pale skeletal fingers. "But it is no matter now. The blood of Harry Potter flows through my veins, and now…"
Harry felt the cold tip of Voldemort's finger touch his cheek and he thought his head would explode with the pain. He had to bite his lip once again to keep from screaming and blood filled his mouth again.
"They say the boy was my downfall. They said he defeated me!" Voldemort's voice turned even more frigid. "Tonight, you will all see that this pathetic boy is no match for the Dark Lord Voldemort. Crucio!"
The curse arced through Harry's body again, and it took every bit of his willpower to not scream in agony. Through the blinding pain, he could see the visible disappointment on Voldemort's face caused by his silence and a small feeling of triumph surged through him. The pain soon ceased, and Harry spat out more blood to show his defiance.
"You see how foolish it was to suppose that this boy could ever have been stronger than me," Voldemort said to his enthralled followers. "But I want there to be no mistake in anybody's mind. Harry Potter escaped me by a lucky chance. And I am now going to prove my power by killing him, here and now, in front of you all, when there is no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother to die for him. I will give him his chance. He will be allowed to fight, and you will be left in no doubt which of us is the stronger."
Wormtail, with his new silver hand, ambled over and cut Harry loose from his bindings. His knees nearly buckled upon being freed, but he steadied himself before he could collapse. The Death Eaters converged, forming an airtight circle for the duel to take place. Harry felt Wormtail press his wand into his hand, but he never took his eyes off of Voldemort, who was watching him with sadistic amusement.
"You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?"
"I have indeed been taught how to duel," Harry fired back, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk, "Tom Riddle."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry wondered if Hermione would blame his audacity to insult his opponent on Top Gun. Voldemort's face contorted with fury, and he raised his wand once more. "Crucio!"
But Harry had anticipated – even hoped for that response. He used his Quidditch reflexes and every ounce of strength left in his legs to leap to the side. The spell collided with the marble headstone, but he rolled away unscathed. Crouching, he pointed his wand at the ground just in front of Voldemort's feet. "Confringo!" The earth exploded, sending a wave of grass and soil arcing ten meters into the air as a crater was carved out of the ground instantly. "Oppungo!"
Every bit of dirt, every blade of grass, every pebble came streaking down towards Voldemort. Harry knew the Dark Lord would be able to dispel the rubble with no effort, but the longer he kept him off guard the more time he had to think of an escape plan. Forcing his quivering legs to propel him along the circumference of the circle, he unleashed a string of spells at the top of his lungs.
"Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Impedimentia! Reducto! Bombarda! Stupefy!"
Harry watched each jet of light bounce harmlessly off of the strongest looking shield he had ever seen, but he knew he was succeeding at keeping Voldemort at bay.
"Confringo!" He cast again at another patch of ground, forming another crater. "Oppungo!" The debris rocketed towards the shield once more, but before he could cast another spell Voldemort had banished the fragments and aimed his wand. Harry knew his legs were still too unsteady from multiple Cruciatus Cruses to properly leap out of the way of another Unforgivable.
"Crucio!"
Panicking, he tried to think of something he could put between himself and the jet of red light. "Orchideous!" He cried out, the only conjuring spell that fourth-years learned.
A flawless bouquet of pink orchids materialized out of thin air, only to be obliterated by the Cruciatus Curse a moment later. Harry felt a surge of relief, even hope. Shield Charms may have been useless against Unforgivable Curses, but they could be blocked by solid objects. Professor Moody had not mentioned that in Defense class.
"Flowers for your own grave, Potter?" Voldemort taunted. "Perhaps we should speed things up, then. Avada Kedavra!"
Harry conjured another bouquet just in time for it to be vaporized by the Killing Curse.
"You cannot delay the inevitable, Harry Potter!" Voldemort sneered. "Flowers will not keep you alive for much longer."
"Is that so?" Harry spat out more blood onto the grass and smirked. "Because I've survived for thirteen years because of a Lily."
Hermione would definitely blame that one on Top Gun.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Harry crouched in hopes of leaping to the side and dodging the spell, but his weakened legs crumpled before he got the chance. He dropped to the ground instead, pressing his body flat to the grass as a sizzling jet of green light streaked over his head.
"Selwyn!" Voldemort hissed, his voice shifting to the guttural tone of Parseltongue. Harry risked a glance over his shoulder and saw that one of the hooded figures in the circle had fallen and was lying completely motionless. The prone Death Eater had been standing directly behind Harry and had been struck by the errant Killing Curse.
Voldemort was standing in complete and utter shock, taken aback that he had inadvertently murdered one of his precious followers. Harry glanced back towards Selwyn and saw that the two nearest Death Eaters were bent over and examining his corpse, abandoning their positions in the circle in favor of searching for signs of life.
There was now a gap in the circle, Harry realized.
"Fumos!" He bellowed, swirling his wand around himself as he clambered to his feet and bolted. The smoke provided just enough cover for the subsequent volley of curses to sail wildly past him while he ran as fast as he trembling legs would carry him. He hit the two Death Eaters that were examining Selwyn with Stunning Spells and tied them together with an Incarcerous as he pushed through the once impenetrable circle.
"Stun him!" Voldemort screeched. "He's mine to finish!"
Harry had no idea where he was running towards, but he knew as he awkwardly crouched and zigzagged between headstones that he had to put space between himself and the Death Eaters. He cast another Smokescreen Spell and pushed through the graveyard, taking a sharp right in hopes of lessening his chances of being hit by a spell.
Every few seconds he lobbed a spell over his shoulder, alternating between Stunners, Impediment Jinxes, and Body Binds in hopes of incapacitating as many Death Eaters as he could.
CRACK
"Stupefy!"
Harry just managed to conjure a Shield Charm, but the force of the spell sent him flying backwards. He crashed into a tombstone, and he was certain he had broken another rib when he hit the stone surface. He gasped out, blood flying from his mouth as he whipped his head towards where the Stunner had come from. One of the hooded Death Eaters was marching towards him, but even with his mask on Harry knew who it was by the telltale mane of long blonde hair.
"Well, well, well," Lucius Malfoy spat out, his wand aimed directly at Harry. "Oh, how the Dark Lord will reward me for bringing the insufferable Harry Potter to him on a silver platter."
Harry tried to speak, but the agony in his ribcage made it excruciating to breathe, much less formulate words. He settled for giving him the finger as he tried to push himself to his feet. Malfoy scoffed and flicked his wand, and Harry was slammed back into the ground by an invisible wall of force. His head lolled to the side on the impact, and just before he met Malfoy's eye again, he saw a familiar glint of metal lying several meters away – the Triwizard Cup.
"You would do well to learn how to respect your betters, Potter," Malfoy said coldly. "Perhaps this will help you realize precisely where you belong," He lifted his wand once again and aimed it down towards Harry.
Somewhere deep in his gut, Harry knew that the Cruciatus Curse was coming next. He doubted he'd be able to conjure a single flower through the pain in his torso, much less an adequate bouquet to intercept the curse. He needed something to shield himself.
"Accio Cup!" He choked out.
"Cruci –"
Harry blindly reached his hand out, and as his fingers brushed the cool metallic surface of the trophy, Lucius Malfoy and the graveyard around him disappeared in a rush of wind.
A/N: I cannot tell you all how much I fucking hate Priori Incantatem. Of all the stuff in canon that I consider to be wack, that ranks near the top. It is so random and is designed solely to keep canon Harry's unprepared ass from getting murdered in the graveyard, and I vowed to myself to never put it in my story. It looks cool in the movies, but writing it is a chore and is much less entertaining than writing out a legitimate duel, so here we are. Plus, Priori Incantatem only happens when the two linked wands cast spells at the same time, so I made sure that didn't happen in my chapter to stay consistent with canon wand laws.
Alright, now that I got that out of my system. This chapter is not particularly fluffy, for obvious reasons. Don't worry, this story will continue to be fluffy and such as a whole, but this chapter had to happen. Plus, I loved writing it; I actually really enjoy writing action when it involves competent fighters.
References to note: Yes, Sirius was going to say "That's what she said", and that sequence was inspired by Michael Scott's first line in the finale of The Office, and Tonks saying "So uncivilized" is inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi from Revenge of the Sith. Oh, and the title of the chapter alludes to Sia's song Broken Glass, which contains the lyrics "There's only tears when it's the final task." I like that song, and I found the lyrics to be fitting.
If you're reading this, I love you. Seriously, I cannot communicate just how much I treasure you amazing readers for the support you have given this story. We are now winding down the fourth year, isn't that ridiculous? I published Chapter 1 of this story four months and two days ago simply because I was bored in quarantine, and I thought I could write the events in canon better than JK Rowling did. Now, we are sixty-six chapters in, over two hundred and ninety thousand words in, and by some miracle a few people have added this story to their favorites. I truly cannot thank you all enough. Thank you, and stay safe!