I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC
Hello guys, Badger here. Before anything else happens, I want to congratulate graciousink1530 for being the first, and only one, to guess the doctor who reference and get it correct. Congratulations graciousink1530, you win a cookie...I don't have a cookie to give you, so...buy one in a store I guess.
Anyway, how are you all today? Good? Bad? Happy that your favourite author has published a new chapter? I am kidding of course...my writing is decent, but not the best, as one or two of you have been calling it. Now, the chapter I have for you lot today has more action, then dialogue...at least I think there is. This chapter did go through a rewrite, as a lot more went on and I found I was repeating myself several times over, so I hope you like the final version that you are reading today. That is all for now. I hope you enjoy and I will see you at the end.
Chapter 53
The Second Task
There was a small chill in the air, as Harry made his way down to the Black Lake, Neville by his side. The atmosphere has been thick with tension, ever since an article appeared in the Daily Prophet, explaining everything that had happened regarding Barty Crouch Jr. People had begun questioning Dumbledore, siding with Harry and James, as they wondered how a known Death Eater was able to make it past the Hogwarts wards. Barty Crouch Sr was also being questioned, more so then usual, on how his son was able to escape from Azkaban in the first place. As of yet, no answers were given and the two were receiving Howlers at least once every day, by those concerned for their children's safety. All over Wizarding Britain, Aurors were on the look out and they had extra safety protocols set up for the remainder of the Tournament and the Goblet of Fire was constantly checked and nothing was tampered with so far. When it was confirmed that Crouch Jr was the one to put Harry's and James' name into the Goblet, the two were given the chance to drop out, however the youngest champions refused, stating they planned to win the Tournament and that's what they are going to do. Still, that doesn't mean they aren't paranoid about something happening.
"You okay Harry?" Neville asked "You look a bit tense"
"Do I?" Harry responded sarcastically, fondling the Gillyweed in his hand
Dobby was able to get both Harry and James some Gillyweed in time for the Tournament. Harry decided to use it to get to the hostages, whereas James decided to keep it as a back up plan, just in case, as he chose to use partial transfiguration, as he was able to get pretty decent at it.
"Are you sure this will help me breathe underwater for an hour?" Harry asked, gesturing to the sludgy mass of a plant in his hand
"Most likely" Neville nodded "Of course, there is debate on the efficiency of the effects when in freshwater compared to saltwater, so…"
"You tell me this now!" Harry exclaimed, looking at Neville in disbelief "Now, when the Second Task is about to start?"
"I…I just forgot to bring it up" Neville replied nervously "I'm…I'm sure it will be fine Harry…they… they have wards and spells to ensure Susan and Luna are safe, they should have such things for the Champions to, right?"
"I'm hoping so Neville" Harry sighed
As they made their way to the Black Lake, Neville made his way up to one of the viewing platforms, whilst Harry made his way to the podium, where the other champions were waiting. James smiled, as he saw his approach, the hairs on his arms standing up, due to the cold.
"Nervous Harry?" He asked
"A little" Harry replied
"Do not worry" Krum spoke up, on his other side "I'm sure they are safe down there"
Harry smiled at the Bulgarian Seeker, giving him a small nod. Over the last few weeks, he had spoken with the older boy and enjoyed his company. Like himself and James, Krum had discovered that they were taking hostages pretty quickly, when he found out how to hear the egg. How he did so, Harry had no idea, but chose not to question it.
"Welcome to the Second Task" Bagman's voice rang out "Last night, something was taken from each one of our champions…a treasure of sorts…these five treasures, one for each champion, now lie at the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion needs to find their treasure and bring it to the surface, however…they only have an hour to do so…champions, get ready…"
Fleur removed her outer robe, revealing a one piece swimsuit, ignoring the boys stares, whilst the boys removed their shirts, where the girls seemed to drool at the muscle. Whilst Harry wasn't as muscular as Cedric or Krum, he still had a lot of muscle building due to Quidditch. James, despite being skinny, also had a lot of muscle on him. After a moment of silence, a cannon went off, signalling for the champions to dive into the water. Harry took a moment to put the Gillyweed, ignoring the rubbery texture, before he jumped in. He felt his body shift, where gills appeared on his neck and his hands and feet became webbed. Harry smiled, glad to see the Gillyweed was working. He turned to James, to see his partial transfiguration worked. His legs became a fish tail, gills appeared on his neck and an Esca grew out of his forehead. After long consideration, James decided to go for an Anglerfish, as the light would help them navigate the darker depths of the Black Lake.
With a smile, James gave a nod to Harry, where the two headed down, flicking their wands out of their holster, ready for anything that may try to attack. The Black Lake was murky and felt thick with all the algae. Below them there were coral reefs and old, broken down statues and arches. There were many creatures and fish that swam away when they noticed the two youngest champions approach. Harry stopped when a coral reef near him shook violently. The next thing Harry knew, a swarm of Grindylow shot out at him, scratching at him. Harry quickly fired a cutting curse, removing a head off one of the Grindylows shoulders. This only angered them further and continued attacking him, this time using their teeth as well. Thankfully, James reappeared, firing a blasting curse, with left a massive hole in one of the Grindylows chest. The Grindylows seemed confused as to who to attack, so just attacked both Harry and James at once. The two youngest Champions continued to fight off the Grindylows, but it was proving difficult, as they kept scratching and biting. James eventually grew tired of the Grindylows, so pointed his wand at the swarm and fired off one of his more powerful banishing curses. This sent the Grindylows flying, where they then proceeded to swim away in fear.
"I'm glad that's over" Harry said, voice slightly muffled, as they healed up any scratches on their body
"We should continue" James replied "I'm not sure how long there is left and those gills of yours are on a time limit"
Harry nodded and the two continued swimming, the water getting darker as they continued, their only light being the Esca on James' forehead. The two passed through a clearing of seaweed and coral, to see several different quarries to swim down. James fired a point-me charm, in hopes of finding which direction to go down. The two watched, as James' wand pointed to the quarry ahead of them. Before they could do anything however, there was a large rumble and a dark shadow loomed over them, making everything more darker then it was before.
The two slowly turned, to see the giant squid behind them. It looked at them, its eyes blazing, before one of its tentacles came crashing down. James pushed Harry out the way, before swimming away quickly, just before the tentacle hit the ground, with a loud crash, the coral and stone cracking. The impact, caused the area around them to shake and sending the two spinning through the water. Harry was the first to regain his senses and fired a hex, that impacted the squid in the eye. The squid let out a roar of pain, before it grabbed Harry with one of its tentacles, where Harry felt himself slowly being crushed. With the squids attention on Harry, it didn't notice James, who fired a cutting curse, that severed the tentacle off of its body, freeing Harry. The squid let out another roar, before it swam away, down a tunnel in the ground below. Harry took a moment, for his ribs to stop hurting.
"Thanks" Harry said
"Your welcome" James smiled, before a melodic voice rang across the water
An hour long you have to look, to recover what we took, your times half gone, so tarry not, lest what you seek here stays to rot.
Not wasting anymore time, Harry and James swam down the quarry James' wand had pointed them. It was cramped, but they managed to make it through. They found themselves into a massive clearing, with a large stone arch. Under the arch were five people tied to pillars. The hostages. Each one asleep and guarded by Merpeople. They were about to head towards the pillars, when they saw Krum appear, looking like a shark. It seemed he had the same plan as James. Krum used his teeth to cut the rope holding Hermione, who must've been his hostage and swam to the surface. Whilst Krum was swimming back up, Harry and James swam their way towards the pillars. The Merpeople, noticing their approach, stopped and held up their tridents threateningly, one of them approaching.
"Only one" it snarled "Take one and leave!"
Harry gave them a small nod, whilst James just swam towards Luna. He placed a hand against her cheek, checking for any injuries, Harry doing the same to Susan. Happy that neither Susan or Luna were harmed in any way, they cut the rope keeping them tied to the pillar and swam up to the surface, keeping a tight grip on them. When they broke through the surface of the water, Luna and Susan woke up, whilst James' anglerfish appearance went away. As Harry still had time left under the effects of the Gillyweed, and there was no spell to reverse the effects, he was left with his fish aspects.
"And our two youngest champions are the next to arrive" Bagman's voice rang, as people cheered
Harry and James drowned out his voice, as they made their way to the podium, still holding on to Luna and Susan. As soon as they made their way onto the podium, Madam Pomfrey made their way over, to see if they required any medical attention.
"Harry…" Susan said, after she regained her bearings "Why do you look like that?"
"Gillyweed" Harry smiled "How long have you two been down there?"
"I don't know" Susan replied "Since last night…I think…Dumbledore asked to talk to me and Luna, that's the last thing I remember"
"I'm glad you're okay" James said, which made Luna smile and cuddle up against him
"Are you okay?" Luna asked "You seem a little uncomfortable"
"Don't worry, I'm fine" James reassured "I've just never been a fan of water"
Luna nodded, where they waited for the other champions. They weren't waiting long, when Cedric appeared, carrying Cho with him. It wasn't long after that, when Fleur Delacour came up, looking battered and bruised, tears down her cheeks.
"Miss Delacour" Dumbledore said, approaching as she made her way onto the podium "Are you okay?"
"I had to forfeit" Fleur cried "Grindylows attacked me and I couldn't make it to Gabrielle, she is still down there!"
Everyone turned, when they heard someone jump into the water. Taking a look at the podium, they knew who it was.
…
Harry swam down back to where the hostages were, as quick as he could. He could feel that the effects of the Gillyweed were about to fade soon. He probably had a few minutes, if that. As he made it down to the pillars, the Merpeople pointed their tridents his way.
"We said only one!" They snarled
Harry ignored them, as he swam to Gabrielle. He cut the rope and began swimming up to the surface once more. The Merpeople didn't like that he ignored their rules and began attacking. Harry fired all kinds of spells, at the Merpeople, as he swam up to the surface, holding Gabrielle close, so she wasn't in the crossfire. Harry then let out a cry of pain, as he felt a trident pierce his leg, the water starting to cloud with the crimson of his blood. Harry continued to swim to the surface, but was struggling. The effects of the Gillyweed were also starting to fade, the gills shrinking, making it difficult to breath. His vision was starting to blacken, when he felt someone grab him and Gabrielle and swim back up to the surface, removing the trident from his leg. He was dragged to the podium, where Madam Pomfrey made her way over. She healed up his leg and handed him a potion.
"Drink this Potter" She said "It's a blood replenishing potion, it will help with any blood you've lost"
Harry drank the potion and could his vision cleared once more, where he saw James being checked over by Madam Pomfrey, as he coughed up some water. After giving him a potion, she checked on Gabrielle.
"Are you okay James?" Harry asked
"I'm fine" James replied "I didn't have my Gillyweed…must've lost it…you though Harry, bit of an idiot…a noble idiot…but an idiot…if I didn't make it down to you in time, you would have drowned, when the effects wore off"
"I know, but I couldn't just do nothing" Harry snapped "You would've done the same"
"You're right" James sighed "I would've…"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, when a silver haired missile crashed into him, wrapping him into a tight hug. It was Fleur Delacour.
"Thank you" She said "You saved my sister when she wasn't yours to save"
"It was no big deal" Harry shrugged
"But it is for my family" Fleur smiled, before hugging James "And you helped…thank you…I apologise for anything I said about you"
Harry and James watched as Fleur walked off, where she hugged her sister tightly, not wanting to let go.
"That was interesting" Harry commented
"Yep" James replied, popping the 'p' "You know, Sirius isn't going to be happy when he hears about this"
Harry sighed. James was right. Sirius may be happy that he saved someone, but he wouldn't like that Harry acted recklessly, to do so. No doubt some kind of Marauders prank was heading his way at some point.
…
Second Task is done. Just one more Task to do.
What did you all think? As I said, this chapter did go through a rewrite. Originally, the chapter was roughly twice the length of this chapter, because of the amount of times I repeated what I wrote in the action. I will admit though, I wish I did more with the Giant Squid. Harry's plan stayed the same to how it was with Canon, but what did you think of James' plan? Becoming part Anglerfish? I felt like it made sense as they have that light on their forehead, which is apparently called an Esca. With how dark any ocean can get, I felt like it would be the best choice, as you wouldn't need to use your want to cast a Lumos and become defenceless.
Also, are any of you surprised that Harry and James decided to stay in the Tournament? I want to know, what would you guys do, in that scenario?
Anyway, that is all from me today. The next chapter will be the Final Task of the Tournament where either Harry or James will be in for a nasty surprise. Can any of you guess who?
Side Note: I like asking you guys questions about things...it makes me feel involved with you lot. Anyway, I'm sure some of you guys have seen those character edits on YouTube, where a song plays over clips of the character. My question for you is this, what song do you think matches the characters of Harry or James and why? For Harry, I always imagined This is War by 30 seconds from Mars suited his character, though I'm not sure about James. Leave me your answers in the review section.
Badger out.
