4 Third Task
Alain invited all the champions for a chat, a few days before the last task. "My sources indicate that there might be a great danger to the champions during the last task. I can't prevent the danger, but I'd like to be able to send help as soon as possible. I want to cast on each of you some spells that may detect dark magic used on or near you, as well as some wards to deflect most attacks just enough to allow you to either escape or fight back. I also plan to cast a location monitoring charm on you just before the task starts. That will allow me to send help for you, no matter where you'll be. Do you agree?"
Fleur and Harry agreed at once. Cedric Diggory didn't need to think much longer before agreeing as well. Viktor Krum was not so forthcoming, though. "Will these charms limit my ability to use any kind of magic against obstacles in the task?"
Alain shook his head. "These are only monitoring and protection charms. Yet you should refrain from using dark magic, as it may cause an alarm, disrupting the task."
"Then I can't allow it. Most of what I've learned at Drumstrang is considered here to be dark."
Alain thought for a moment. "We can make sure that you are safe without disruptions, if you want. I don't mind the kind of magic you use to overcome obstacles. I only want to make sure you're all safe."
"I can agree to that," Krum said after a slight hesitation.
Alain cast several spells on each champion, explaining what each was and how he intended to use it in the overall protection plan. Cedric and Viktor left soon after that. Alain turned to Harry and Fleur. "There's no magical shield that can block the unforgivables, but a simple mirror can deflect them, preferably back to the caster. There's a spell to conjure such a mirror in a hurry. I want to teach you two how to use it and train you until I'm satisfied you can do it under almost any circumstances."
Both nodded their agreement.
"The spell is very simple. It has several forms, depending on the language of preference. I suggest you use 'Reflect,' which is short enough to be done quickly and stop both Crucio and Imperio, which are slightly longer, and certainly the killing curse." He demonstrated, conjuring a full-size mirror which floated in front of him for several seconds and then disappeared.
An hour later, after some rigorous training, both were performing quite well. Alain made them promise to continue practising until the day of the task.
The unforgivable alarm triggered before the start of the task. The French Aurors, wearing invisibility cloaks, moved immediately, finding Krum with Moody. There seemed to be nothing wrong, but their suspicion was now very high. As planned, two Aurors were now shadowing each of these men.
As the contestants entered the maze, Alain kept watching a parchment, not unlike the Marauder Map, on which the position of each champion was displayed. He noticed Krum approaching Fleur and then the dark alarms triggered on both. Fleur stopped moving, while Krum seemed to distance himself from her as quickly as he could. The Aurors intercepted him and subdued him, finding immediately that he was acting under Imperius Curse. While others rescued Fleur, who had been hit by a dark stunner, Moody was also subdued by his "shadow" French Aurors.
Harry and Cedric were oblivious to these events. After meeting at one intersection, they decided to go at it together, which proved to be a wise decision. Four eyes and two wands helped them overcome the remaining obstacles and reach the trophy at the centre with barely a few scratches. They took hold of it together, expecting it to bring them in front of the judges. Instead, they found themselves in a deserted graveyard. Harry looked around and then noticed a man coming out of the shadows, carrying a bundle with what looked like a very deformed baby. Seeing that bundle, Harry's scar started hurting, almost making him fall. He still managed to hear, "Kill the spare," and then another voice starting, "Ava..."
His training came in handy. "Reflect!" he said in barely a whisper, wishing his magic to act swiftly. A full-size mirror appeared in front of him, shielding both him and Cedric, just in time to reflect the green beam back to its caster. His scar stopped hurting immediately. As the mirror disappeared, Harry noticed that the reflected curse had seemingly hit both the man and the bundle he was holding, as there was no sign of life in any of them.
Before he could do anything more, several apparitions sounded around him and he saw Alain, his wife and a few more people materialize.
"Are you alright?" Alain asked him.
Harry only nodded. The others took a defensive position, cordoning the two champions and looking ready for any additional trouble. Apolline checked the two bodies, looking just as fearsome as the Aurors. She then turned to Harry. "Don't ever give me such a scare again!" she admonished him before hugging him fiercely.
Once she released him, Harry asked, "Is Fleur alright?"
Apolline frowned, making him worry for a moment. "She's fine now, and probably worried to death about your disappearance. Now, just tell me what has happened and we shall send you back."
It was Cedric who talked now. "I was attacked by one of the monsters in the maze and Harry saw this and helped me before I could get hurt. We then decided to do the rest together, helping each other, until we reached the trophy goblet. It took us here. We weren't yet sure where we were when somebody came near and I heard first, 'Kill the spare,' in a kind of frightening voice, and then somebody else spoke the killing curse, directing it to me. I was almost frozen in place, but Harry probably did something, since a solid shield appeared in front of us and then we saw this..." He pointed at the bodies on the ground.
Alain had just finished checking the trophy, along with one of the Aurors. "It's time for you to return," he said firmly. "Come here and grab the cup together. Don't say anything about what happened here before I come back. Pretend you've just touched it now."
Cedric and Harry held each other's hands and touched the cup together, disappearing at once. Alain spent only a short time instructing his team and then grabbed his wife and disappeared as well.
The two champions landed in front of the judges' table. They could immediately see that Karakoff looked extremely sour and Madame Maxime was furious. Dumbledore, who seemed worried, changed his expression as soon as he saw his students arrive. "Well, it looks like we have two winners, but only one school," he said merrily.
Harry looked around, finding Moody nowhere. He was a bit worried that he couldn't find McGonagall either, but was relieved at seeing the Delacour couple returning to their places, besides Gabi, just before the minister started talking, giving the prize to the two winners to share.
He barely had time to congratulate Cedric, when a bushy brown-haired beauty tackled him, almost making him fall. "Oh, Harry! I was so worried for you! I'm so glad you've finally finished this safely!"
She hugged him fiercely, and Harry noted some suspicious moisture in her eyes. He hugged her back just as tightly, glad all this was over. It took them some time to notice that others were also waiting for their turn to congratulate Harry. Alain and Apolline Delacour were the first in line, watching the interaction between the teens with some apprehension. Gabi was with them, but she seemed just enthusiastic that her favourite idol had won.
It was much later when Harry went with the Delacour to the hospital wing to check on Fleur, with Hermione still tucked at his side. "What happened to her?" he asked.
Hermione was the one who answered. "It seems that Professor Moody was not Moody at all. He is a Death Eater impostor who used Polyjuice. He has Imperiused Krum to get rid of all other contestants and open the way for you to be the winner, with the intention for you to become an unwilling participant in the resurrection of the Dark Lord. Krum attacked Fleur and was immediately taken down as was the fake Moody. Then, Madam Pomfrey has taken care of Fleur and I'm sure she is fine by now."
Harry was confused. He was sure most of this was unknown to the other students. Having a criminal impersonating a teacher for most of the year was not something Dumbledore would willingly let be known. "How do you know all this?"
Gabi couldn't refrain from answering in her stead. "Mum said that as your future wife, she is entitled to know everything that happened."
Both Harry and Hermione blushed crimson. "We're not engaged!" they both said as one. "We're not even dating," Hermione added.
Gabi smiled knowingly. "You've been courting each other since the first year, as far as I know, and Fleur has told me that you're both immune to her allure, which means that you both feel true love, probably for each other."
Her mature words were accompanied by a giggle, showing her young age.
Harry looked at Hermione questioningly, as if asking if this was true. She looked back at him, smiling reassuringly, as if confirming this, making him smile as well.
They found Fleur sitting in her bed. She looked like she wanted to jump on Harry, and only the matron's hand on her shoulder was stopping her. Harry released Hermione's hand as he took both Fleur's hands in his. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine now. Krum still needs to stay the night here, though. He stun me from behind, and the Aurors were furious enough to inflict some damage on him, although he was under Imperius and wasn't quite in control of himself."
"Show me how fine you are," he pleaded.
Fleur held his head in her hands and kissed him passionately, making Hermione blush and lower her head while the elder Delacour just laughed and Gabi giggled happily.
"Will you two join us for breakfast in the Beauxbatons carriage?" Alain asked as the kiss ended and Harry grabbed Hermione's hand again, holding Fleur's in the other.
"We'll be honoured," Hermione answered, with Harry nodding his agreement.
The French breakfast was very different than the usual Hogwarts one. It wasn't as fat or as heavy, yet it was delicious and made Harry and Hermione feel full of energy for the coming day. There was not much talking while eating, yet once they finished, Alain sent Gabi away, despite her protests, so he could freely talk with the teens.
"I understand that you're still going to spend some time with your relatives," Alain addressed Harry,
"Yes. The headmaster persuaded me to do it, even though the wards will probably collapse once I find the place I can call my home. I think I should contact the goblins to erect new wards, yet I'm not sure my relatives will accept that."
Alain sighed. "Well, too bad for them. You know that Fleur will need to visit you at least once a week from now on, I believe."
Harry blushed. "I'm looking forward to her visits. Doing my duty to her is quite pleasant."
Alain laughed good-heartedly. "I'm glad to hear that." He now turned to Hermione. "What do you think about this?"
Hermione shrugged. "I have no right to an opinion. I dated Viktor at that time. I could have lost Harry altogether and it was extremely foolish of me. I'm not sure what I thought at the time."
"I think you wanted Harry to become aware of his feelings. That's not foolish at all," Fleur said. "Besides, this gave me the chance to get Harry as my mate, and I feel indebted to you for that. Had you wanted him as your date, I would have lost that chance. I could never compete with you,"
Hermione seemed confused. "I'm not as beautiful or as sexy as you. I can have no chance in a direct competition."
Fleur shook her head. "You're wrong. There's no more desirable woman for Harry than you are. If Harry had to choose, I'd had no chance at all."
Alain smiled reassuringly at her. "Miss Granger, judging by what my wife and my daughter sensed, I do not doubt that you're going to be the next Lady Potter. Would you object to Fleur having sex with your husband about twice a week for as long as she lives?"
Hermione sighed. "I can't say I will be happy about this. I was raised in the muggle world, where any such relationship is frowned upon, yet I can't honestly deny Fleur her share of Harry's attention, knowing what that may lead to."
Alain smiled again. "I could expect no better answer. I do have a suggestion, though. As Fleur is going to be a constant in Harry's life, almost like you, it may help tremendously if you two become closer, maybe even friends. May I invite you and your parents to spend a few weeks with us in France? Harry will also be invited, of course."
"I can't answer in their stead, but I believe my parents may enjoy such a vacation. It will help if you invite them formally, though."
The train ride was anticlimactic. After such a year, full of events, surprises and action, it was nice to have something so utterly predictable. Even Malfoy's visit was relaxing, in a way, due to its regularity. Harry spent most of the ride with Hermione cuddling into him. Although they had not spoken about it, everybody was treating them as a couple. Neither of them thought of objecting. Only Ron seemed to frown at their closeness, although he didn't say anything about it.
"Please visit me while I stay with my relatives," Harry said to Hermione.
"I'll come. If my parents can't drive me, I'll use the Knight Bus, I promise." She then blushed a bit. "May I tell my parents that you're my boyfriend?"
Harry smiled. "As your boyfriend, it is my duty to kiss you before we go to our respective destinations, isn't it?"
Hermione lifted her face to him. "Do your duty, then," she urged him.
Despite the audience, Harry kissed her tenderly and passionately, saying in his kiss all that he was unable to express in words. They only stopped the kiss when Mr. Granger started coughing quite loudly, bringing them back to earth.
Hermione seemed unaffected. "Mum, Dad, let me introduce Harry Potter, my best friend since the first year and now my boyfriend as well," she said merrily to her parents. Dave Granger only shook hands solemnly with the boy, but his wife, Jean, hugged him tightly, just like her daughter, saying, "I'm so glad to finally meet you!"
He didn't get such a warm welcome from his relatives. His uncle seemed to be in a hurry, as always, while his aunt was looking curiously at the Grangers, keeping her thoughts well hidden.