Well, I was unable to write this past week, but with good reason. I spent last Wednesday through Sunday driving to, participating in, and returning from, the Salt Lake Comic-Con. For those who may have attended, I could have been found in the Kid-Con area, performing with Saber Guild in the Youngling Lightsaber Training venue. Thankfully, I prepared ahead, and have several chapters on standby to post in case of events such as this. I have resumed writing, naturally, and hope that you all enjoy this as much as I did the convention. Happy Reading!
Chapter Forty Seven
Acceleration
Veneficus had to carefully school his emotions the day after the Yule Ball, as the muted horror that plagued the Great Hall as the post owls arrived and people read their copies of the paper sent up a symphony in the Force that was simply too delightful.
Dumbledore was nowhere to be found, and Veneficus was hopeful that the Headmaster had become quite preoccupied with dealing with the catastrophe that had occurred with the goblin nation the night previously. Naturally no witnesses had been able to identify him, of the handful that survived, and his work was being attributed to the followers of lord Voldemort.
It was acceptable, as the Sith had done this to protect their secret existence, but at the same time Veneficus couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed that his work was being attributed to another, disembodied attempt of a rival thought he was, but it could not be helped.
Anguis caught his eye a few times during the meal, especially when Snape appeared, glaring in Veneficus' direction with poorly controlled contempt. Apparently the man suspected something, and it was what tipped off the blond Force user to disbelieving what the paper reported and silently requesting the full story from Veneficus himself.
He may give it to him too, as Veneficus was in far too good a mood this day, but there were other important matters to attend to before that. Sending pointed looks around the room to his fellow 'conspirators,' Veneficus silently indicated that they would be meeting later to hold a discussion. It was part of the secret, he had told them, that they had prepared a set of silent gestures and meanings so that no one outside of their group would know when or where they would meet.
Despite its silliness, Veneficus had praised the suggestion from Miss Granger, and adopted several key indicators, such as casually tapping on the table to indicate the time they would meet, and touching a particular part of his face to show the location.
Tapping swiftly twice on the table in seeming impatience, Veneficus slowly scratched the tip of his left ear, indicating to all those paying attention that they would meet two hours after lunch in an unused classroom up on the seventh floor, on the west side of the castle. The complexity of the code was agreed upon by all involved, so they had committed to memory the twelve different locations that they had singled out, and their corresponding gestures.
Crude, yet surprisingly effective and it gave those who weren't Force users a feeling of comraderly in the group, which all played to Veneficus' advantage.
Later that day, at the appointed time, Veneficus and Anguis were the first to arrive at the classroom. Still being the holidays, this part of the castle was deserted, most of the students either huddled for warmth in their common rooms, or outside enjoying the snow with frivolous and quite ridicules games.
Veneficus concluded long ago that he simply didn't have the time or energy to try and care about understanding the minds of these children, and just ignored their childish antics, regardless of age or background. He simply accepted that he operated at a far higher level than anyone in the castle, and that to accomplish his ends; he would have to elevate select individuals to herd the masses in his stead, which had resulted in this group.
Veneficus looked on with muted smugness as the others filtered in. Theodore Nott and Terrence Boot, both bound by oaths of loyalty and cowed into absolute fear of his wrath, followed shortly by Colin Creevey, so blinded by adoration and comraderly that he would do nearly anything that Veneficus asked on him. Blaise arrived, much to the others' surprise, but Veneficus merely nodded at him and gestured to a seat next to himself, subtly stroking the boy's growing infatuation.
Last to arrive was Miss. Granger, Veneficus' personal project, the girl so bright yet so naive as to be seduced to a more, pragmatic view of the world around her. Even now, as she surveyed the others with a haughty look of superiority, Veneficus knew he had won their battle of wits that started when they first met.
"My friends," he said softly, standing and holding his arms out to them, "a terrible tragedy has occurred in our world; one that I believe illustrates the grand importance of our work, and the need for secrecy. Death Eaters, sycophants of a bigoted pureblood idealist, have struck at the very lifeblood of our current society, causing the banking nation of the goblins to temporarily shut their doors. Such a devastating blow will leave the Wizarding World reeling for years, with aftershocks striking every corner of society."
They all clung to his every word, Veneficus saw as he swept his eyes over the children. Even Anguis, who had some idea of what was going to happen, was visibly impressed by Veneficus' growing command of the Dark Side, and its seductive pull on others. "Much the same would befall us, young as we are, if anyone outside of this room was to discover what we plan. The merging of muggle science and magical prowess must go unhindered for many years before we're ready to unveil the eyes of the wider world, and the end result will shatter life as we know it now, reforming it into a glorious new era of growth and prosperity."
Veneficus paused for effect, as if collecting his thoughts, but he had already prepared much of what he needed to share beforehand, and this was mostly to inspire the others to a new level of fervor when it came to the Magi-technology project. "To ensure that this era comes forth in our lifetimes, we must therefore be diligent; every effort must be expended to realize this dream, of taking wizard-kind from their self induced stupor and launching us all beyond the stars, to make contact with the Republic and its thousands of star systems that would welcome us with open arms."
Removing the small prototypes that Anguis, Granger and Veneficus himself had created, the Sith Lord help them up for all to see, "The fruits of our labors; magic, stored and able to be converted into any energy source needed, able to power devices of greater caliber than anything currently envisioned by the scientist of the muggle world, and this is only the beginning!"
Waving his wand at the nearby board, the chalk flew on its own accord, drawing out the diagrams and schematics from his own mind, "The next steps of our rising out of obscurity, a system of ward stones, able to store the magical coding of any known spell, and replicate it upon command."
The children all stared at the complex diagram wide eyed. Granger's in particular were flashing with barely constrained excitement at the possibilities. "Combining these with our devices that store pure magical energy, any devise can be created to produce the exact effects of any spell imaginable."
"This," Veneficus said pointedly, "is the project I want all efforts devoted to until completion, it will determine the strategic first step."
Turning to Hermione specifically, Veneficus spoke to her more than anyone else, "I expect a prototype ready for duplication after the second task.
"It will be done…" she replied confidently, smiling to herself. Veneficus could tell that her pride was increased whenever she felt that he singled her out, as though he trusted her most of all to complete this task. In part it was true, as Veneficus knew only she would be able to finish one in the two month time limit he gave, but her personal sense of pride would prevent her from doing anything less than her best in the process.
"I know," he said softly, sensing her pleasure flare in the Force again. Turning back to the rest, "the rest of you will prepare the tools and materials that Hermione will need, obeying every command she has in this project. Together we will surpass all that those generations before only dreamed of. I will inform you of the next time and meeting after the second task, but for now I must go and prepare for the challenge."
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Zhar sighed as he and the group of ten Sith Purebloods finally came within sight of his ship, still hidden away exactly where he had left it. The Darksider had worried the entire agonizingly slow trip that Master Lalsok would catch up to them, attempting to hinder their retreat once again, but it seemed that the fear had been vain.
The ten teenaged Sith looked excited as the ship loomed into view, and hurried forward as Zhar lowered the ramp to grant them entry to the ship's interior.
"Zhar!"
He froze, cursing his last moments of lowering his guard. Turning his back on the ship, and escape, Zhar saw the Jedi Master racing toward them riding a speeder, cloak flapping behind him in the wind his pursuit generated.
Zhar had not wanted to try and fight the Master of Juyo, but it seemed that he had little choice. Pressing the small devise that remotely controlled his freighter, Zhar initiated the launching sequence. He had mere moments before the ship could be ready to fly, precious time that he must hold Master Lalsok off while remaining alive in the process.
As the Weequay Jedi Master approached, he leapt from the speeder, sending the vehicle flying at Zhar, and more importantly the ship behind him. Throwing a wave of the Force before him, Zhar blasted the speeder off course, only managing to lift his weapon to meet the Jedi Master's powerful attack as he landed.
Orange blades met in an explosion of sound and sparks. Zhar had had rare occasion to fight against a wielder of a double-bladed lightsaber, but whatever he could have expected was not what he faced now. Master Lalsok spun the deadly, twin bladed weapon with graceful ease, parrying every strike Zhar threw at him before switching to a vicious attack sequence, jabbing and slashing with both blades in a fluid advance that pushed Zhar back towards the freighter.
This was exactly what Zhar wanted, and he allowed the Weequay to press him, making sure to stay one step ahead in his defenses. He would have tried to counterattack, but that option was perfectly denied him by the superior skills of his opponent. Zhar could do nothing but defend and wait for the ship to finish warming up, all the while looking for an opening to get away from the Jedi Master.
Dodging to the side at the next attack, Zhar leapt backward to add more distance from himself and Lalsok, lashing out with the Force, trying to blast the Jedi Master backward, but the Weequay anticipated the attack, intensifying his aura in the Force to shield himself from the telekinetic attack.
A high pitched whine sounded from the freighter, which cued Zhar in that they ship had finished its preparations for takeoff, and it was time to leave. But that was easier said than done, as Master Lalsok had heard the whine of the engines as well, and was sure to do everything in his power to prevent Zhar from reaching his ship.
Switching tactics, Zhar rushed the double-blade wielding Master, attempting to overrun the Weequay as he made the direct route to the landing ramp of the freighter. Master Lalsok would have two options: dodge and give Zhar free access to his ship and escape, or stand his ground, taking the attack full force.
It was a dangerous gamble, but Zhar was quickly running low on options otherwise, he refused to try and fight the Master on even terms, he was nowhere near ready to do so, so desperate strategic measures had to be taken.
As he had hoped, nimble Lalsok dodged, swinging his saber wide in an attempt to counterattack the slash that never came. Instead, Zhar threw him with a surprise attack of the Force, buying key seconds for him to leap onto his ship and remotely lift off from the planet's surface.
Even as the Jedi Master watched from the ground, Zhar knew that this was not nearly over. The stoic Weequay was one of the more determined and dogmatic of the Council, he would hunt Zhar from one end of the Galaxy to the other, and the likelihood that his ship had already been tagged with a locater beacon was high.
Slumping into the pilot's seat, Zhar relaxed for the moment however, recuperating his strength as he made the ship beeline for where he had secreted the supply transport whose access codes he had stolen to land on Tund. They would scuttle the freighter there after switching ships, and make their escape for the time being back to the Sith occupied worlds.
Zhar had no doubt that Master Lalsok would catch up to him eventually, but it would not be for the moment, and every day that he had he would spent strengthening himself so that he could survive this brutal target that had been placed upon him by the accursed Jedi.
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Darth Millennial smirked inwardly as he walked down Diagon Alley, making his rounds as a lead figure of the wizarding upper class. The front of Gringotts Bank was surrounded by a protective phalanx of spear wielding goblins, while a mob of angry witches and wizards were out front, complaining loudly of their denied banking privileges.
It was most delightful watching the havoc that his apprentice's actions had caused on the pitiful Wizarding Society. In addition, the thorns in their side, from the investigations the goblins were attempting to subtly perform on them were now halted, permanently.
With the deaths of the leadership of the bank, and the subsequent crash of all operations within as well, the Sith now could silently slip back into the shadows, until the time was right for their unveiling.
As he stood for a moment, viewing the chaos at the bank, a twinge in the Force told the Sith Master that he himself was being watched. Silently reaching out, Millennial was surprised to feel the dual minds of a partially crazed being. Correlating with his limited time observing the werewolf, Remus Lupin, the Sith Lord could only conclude that this unknown stalker was another of the magical demi-humans.
As he moved away from the bank, Millennial sensed the werewolf following him, and wishing to discover the means and reasons that he was being singled out in such a manner, he allowed it. Turning down the side street into Knockturn Alley, Millennial searched casually for a vacant building to set up an ambush.
Entering an abandoned storefront, the owner having long since departed from this place when Millennial himself had killed him for the mystical skull that had housed Gor-lak the Cruel, Millennial turned and waiting, shrouding himself in the Force so that the werewolf would not know he was still present until it was too late.
Soon enough, the werewolf, a tall man with thick dirty hair and a wild look in his eyes stalked in, sniffing as he looked around, trying to locate the Sith Lord.
"I know you're here somewhere," the stranger snarled, baring his teeth and licking his lips as he spoke, "Come out where I can see you…"
"I have no need to hide myself from the likes of you, beast…" Millennial said, stepping out of the shadows of the back corner, saber hilt in hand and his hood drawn.
The werewolf whirled on Millennial in an instant, but before the man lunged, the room was flooded with the blue-white radiance of Sith Lightning, throwing shadows across the room and catching the stranger mid step and throwing him back a pace. Quick as it appeared, Millennial let the lightning die away, throwing the room back into darkness.
"Let's try your approach again, beast… for you are in the presence of your better." Millennial taunted, working his way into the man's mind with the Force as he kept the werewolf occupied with his words.
"Who sent you," Millennial said, digging straight to the point. The werewolf merely snarled in response, but within his mind, Millennial saw clearly the mark of the Death Eaters, followed by the face of Mulciber, one of Lucius close friends within the lord Voldemort's order.
The Sith Lord smirked, setting the werewolf visible on edge. This was a hunter that was not used to his prey being unafraid of him, and that gave Millennial the ultimate advantage. "So," he said quietly, but loud enough for the werewolf, whose name he learned was Fenrir Greyback, "Mulciber wants to avenge some falsified grievance with me, possibly the unfortunate death of his dear friend Lucius…"
"How…?" Greyback started, stepping back, and Millennial smiled wider, amplifying the darkness of his Force Aura, making the beast shiver in fright, "I think you, or at least your other half, knows some of the answer to that, Fenrir. The true question, however, is what am I going to do with you. Because if you think you've leaving here on your own terms you are sadly mistaking."
The werewolf laughed, still not fully comprehending the situation, "If you think some magic tricks and a good guess or two will scare me, you're dead wrong… or maybe, just dead!" he lunged, and Millennial responded, lashing out with the built up force energy he had been preparing, slamming the werewolf into the ceiling, pinning his arms and legs together, as though clutched by a massive invisible hand. "No… I think you are the one who is wrong, but perhaps not exactly dead…" Millennial said, smirking.
Dropping his hand, the beast was brought crashing to the floor once again, with force enough to crack the wooden panels that made up the flooring. Lightning flared to life again, and the werewolf screamed out in the Force, but the pressure of Millennial's power prevented the man from making any noise.
The Sith Lord kept up the torture until the werewolf passed out from pain. Knowing that others may start to become curious about the lights emanating from an abandoned building, so he quickly pulled out the personal Portkey to Blackmoore Manor, grabbed the thickly built werewolf under the arm, and took them back to his fortress home.
The makeshift dungeons were already proved against a werewolf's ferocity, so the Dark Lord of the Sith had no fears that this assassin and spy would have no hope of escape, and then he would have ample time to study the strange being. It would be far easier with this stronger specimen, as the other werewolf was rather ragged and weak.
Millennial planned to uncover the mystery of these creatures, and their connection to the Dark Side of the Force. He had plenty of time to spend before he was required to make another appearance in public, when he attended the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.
As he levitated the beast into the commissioned cells and, as of now, research laboratory, Millennial had several droids quickly assemble a durasteel slab with restrains etched in silver. A pair of medical droids attended him as well, quickly setting up life sign and other monitors on the werewolf, while preparing many cruel and delightsome instruments for the Sith Lord to use, if he felt needful to do so.
"Now, Fenrir Greyback," Millennial said as his patient groggily awoke, flexing his muscles and snarling in annoyance at the lack of movement he was allowed, "we shall see what makes you werewolves so powerful in this world, and how best for the Lords of the Sith to make use of you and your kin…"
The shrieks of fear that the werewolf gave off as Millennial began his inspection were nothing compared to what he intended to bring out, once the Sith Lord decided to test his victim's pain thresholds.
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Anguis could tell that something in the Force, some inkling that he had of future events, was drawing closer to a boiling point, but every time he attempted to look into the future and catch a glimpse of the event, it slipped away from him. He wasn't sure what the problem was, but he had several guessed of the details already. Resonances in the Force were his dead giveaway, while he was associating with certain people, Lord Veneficus included, which the Sith Lord had deemed as important in some way.
Granger was one of these people, and while Anguis had long ago let go of his blood supremacy and faced the truth that magical strength was in aptitude and determination, he still had problems understanding why she of all people was so important to his master. Certainly she was useful, the amount of learning she could throw at a problem was a testament to that fact, and it was very likely that she would be the force that propelled Magi-Technology into being, but Anguis wasn't sure why Veneficus spent over and above the amount of time grooming her to a deeper and deeper Sith-based philosophy.
Creevey was another of these people. Quirky and odd, Anguis had yet to see a real practical use for the boy in the Sith's schemes, aside from gathering information that was either too mundane or difficult for Veneficus to acquire himself or through a more assuming agent.
But he strove on, trying his hardest to understand the reasoning behind Veneficus' choices, as when he was to eventually break free from the yoke around his neck, and start his own group with himself in the position of leadership, he would have to understand these key principles of reading and manipulating people to his own ends.
So he kept watching, gleaning information from Veneficus' choice interactions with his minions, well up to the day of the Second Task. The Sith Lord seemed to become withdrawn again, and Anguis could only guess that he was researching whatever the task would turn out to be, and how to overcome the obstacle. What he was surprised to find, the evening before the allotted day, was himself being summoned up to McGonagall's office.
Arriving in the Transfiguration Mistress' study, Anguis quickly became suspicious when there were two other children present, some frilly girl that Krum had brought to the Yule Ball, as well as a younger girl with silver-white hair, obviously a relative of the French Champion.
A few moments of awkward silence later, and the three Headmasters of the schools entered. Anguis averted his eyes from Dumbledore, knowing that if the man wanted to, he could pierce Anguis' mind effortlessly, discovering secrets that he had no right to know of.
"Well, I'm sure you all wondering why we've summon you three here this evening," Dumbledore said, smiling grandfatherly at them all. "The next task of the Tournament is for the Champions to delve into the deepest part of the Black Lake, and rescue a treasure that is precious to them."
Those words sent Anguis' mind spinning, realizing their plan instantly. It was about to become very uncomfortable for him. "You will all be perfectly safe, I assure you," Dumbledore said as he leveled his wand on the two girls. "I am placing you all in an enchanted sleep that will break only when you resurface from the lake. Now are there any questions before we proceed?"
Anguis had many questions, first off being 'why me?' but he was not permitted to actually voice anything, as Dumbledore had already intoned the spell, and Anguis found himself, even a Force user, succumbing to the enchantment and drifting off to the blackness of sleep.
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Bellatrix smirked as she entered one of the secure training chambers of her Lord's underground compound. Admiring the door as it slid open before her; Bellatrix once again had to praise the ruthless ambition of the Dark Lord. Where once they fought against this sort of knowledge, trying in vain to establish the superiority of magic alone, they had failed to grasp that, indeed, there was no good nor evil, muggle or magic, but only power, and those too weak to seek it.
But the Lord Voldemort had overcome these barriers, combining the power of their gifted race to the scientific ingenuity of the muggles, projecting and striving to combine the powers into a new and more terrifying force, one that Wizards would become kings over, and at last they would achieve victory over all the creatures of the earth. And yet this would only be the beginning, for countless stars and races awaited them out beyond the realm of their little world, ripe for the picking and domination of the Dark Lord.
Bellatrix became giddy at the thought as she activated a switch, initiating several combat robots that wielded the metal wands named 'blasters'. Under disguise, her Lord had brought her to Knockturn Alley, and supplied her with a new wand, perfectly tailored to her and ready for dark spells and curses to fly through its core.
Drawing the twelve and a half inch long, thick oaken wand, she admired the way her magic sparked in excitement at the challenge. Dropping into a combat stance, the witch waited for the droids to make the first move, as they were programmed to. The six metallic robots spread out, trying to flank her, even as the middle two opened fire with a full auto barrage.
Holding her ground, Bellatrix whipped the oak wand to the side, conjuring a powerful shield, and watching in awe as the red-orange bolts impacted the yellow-gold shield, dissipating harmlessly as they struck.
Twirling her wand in a tight flourish, Bellatrix snapped off several dark cutting and blasting hexes, smiling as her opponents dodged the first volley before responding with a torrent of blaster fire. There were Disapparation wards in place, which made it slightly more difficult, but Bellatrix bobbed and weaved through the maelstrom of deadly energy, using spot deflection shields to stop certain bolts before they could strike her.
Crossing the room with relative easy, she lashed out with a massive concussion curse, detonating the midsection of the nearest droid, and sending shrapnel flying across the metal room. Unfazed by the utter obliteration of one of their comrades, the droids fought on, alternating tactics and speeding up into hit and run phases. Bellatrix quickly surmised that a second wand would be most useful against these opponents, as the ability to shield and attack simultaneously would quickly dominate a blaster wielding foe.
Still, she wasn't the Dark Lord's favorite for nothing, and she cackled in delight as she danced among the robots, dismembering two with precision cutting curses before blasting apart a third with a bombardment hex. Only two remained, and Bellatrix heard a small chime that indicated that the droids had reached their predetermined time limit before engaging a more difficult program.
Immediately separating, each droid ran in opposite directions, one opening full auto fire on Bellatrix, while the second ran to a bay of alternate weapons. Forced to the defensive under the hail of blaster bolts, Bellatrix had an inkling that the other robot was going for some sort of explosive.
This room was specially designed, she had learned, using a powerful durasteel alloy that was highly resistant to everything short of massive explosives, which their options did not include, not that it would stop her insides from painting the walls if she allowed a grenade, rocket or other small arms fire strike her.
Dodging around the droid distracting her, Bellatrix sprinted for the fall wall, firing curses at the second to try and hinder it from reaching the weapons. The robot seemed to anticipate her attacks however, and swerved around each spell, arriving at the protected wall of weapons, at the same time that Bellatrix reached it.
Swiping at the nearest weapon, Bella had to dodge back as the droid swung around with a blaster carbine, spewing high powered laser fire in a wide arc, attempting to mow her down quickly. Rolling under the initial barrage, Bellatrix retaliated with an entanglement jinx, tripping the droid as it was busy controlling its large weapon.
As the metallic body crashed to the floor, its partner opened fire on Bella, forcing her to shield herself from the deadly energy. Not willing to give up the advantage of a downed opponent, the witch brought her second weapon to bear, swinging the smaller holdout blaster she had taken from the selection, and firing several times in quick succession. Years of practice aiming her spells with great precision aided her, and the red plasma bolts struck home, impacting the chest and head of the droid, causing it to sputter and die.
A chilling wail signaled that the last remaining droid had reached its pinnacle programming, and Bellatrix tensed as she saw the droid throw its weapon aside and charge her, its metallic feet clanging across the floor as it ran.
She opened fire with her blaster, as well as bombarding the droid with a wide variety of spells, but the lightning fast robot weaved through her fire, reaching her in rapid succession.
Bellatrix had expected this, and was prepared when the droid collided violently with her. Instead of being sent flying as the droid had planned, Bellatrix twisted mid air, flipping backward and lashing out with magic as she went, blasting off one of the robot's arms, laughing as she landed.
The droid seized the fallen limb, twisting rapidly the throw the appendage at her. Only the slight glimmer as it flew tipper her off. Quickly banishing it away, Bellatrix covered her eyes as the arm exploded.
'At least this is a challenge,' she thought, smirking.
But it was time for the challenge to end. Flicking her wand in a pentagram pattern, Bellatrix intoned the curse that summon Fiend Fire, watching as the cursed flames leapt from her wand and consumed the droid before her, which couldn't escape.
Lesser wizards would not be able to control the dark and highly illegal curse, but Bellatrix was the Dark Lord's most powerful servant. At her command the flames died away, content with the promise of more fuel in the future.
Glancing at the holdout blaster in her other hand, Bellatrix studied the weapon that she had instinctively taken from a host of weapons. It seemed to suit her, smaller yet more powerful than a standard weapon, and easy to hide within robes or other clothing.
Returning to the table, Bellatrix found a holster that fit her new toy, and strapped it to her waist. Better to embrace change and the future where magic and muggle science were brought into perfect harmony under her Lord, than trail behind like the doddering fools in the Ministry and be swept away.
Although she was locked away here for her own safety, Bellatrix would continue to plot and plan, preparing for the day she would be unleashed upon her Lord's enemies once again. Until that day, she would continue to hone her skills with both magic and this new muggle technology, so that she would forever be known as the Dark Lord's most loyal servant.
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Veneficus smugly glanced around the Black Lake as the final preparations for the Second Task were underway. The seats that had previous encircled the dragons' enclosure the previous November were now ranged along the far back of the lake, rising in stands that were packed with students, who were all eagerly awaiting the announcement of the start of the task.
The judges, including the ever smiling Dumbledore and a Weasley child standing in for Bartemius Crouch Senior, were sitting at a gold draped table at the water's edge. Fleur, Krum and Veneficus stood there beside the table, the other two looking at the water silently while Veneficus allowed his mind to wander.
Bagman had already made his short rounds, attempting to muscle in and offer 'advise' to Veneficus on how to accomplish the task, not that the Sith Lord required the bumbling fool or his assistance. Scanning the water with his eyes and the Force, Veneficus smirked as he sensed the presence of his acolyte, Anguis.
'So that explains his absence,' the Sith Lord mused. Although, with the false trail that he had set for Snape and Dumbledore, he had expected Blaise to be the one taken. Glancing toward the stands, Veneficus spotted the same dark skinned boy, who was watching from one of the closest levels of benches on the far bank.
As the time drew near, he cast away the heavy robe that he worn, revealing the skin tight wetsuit underneath. It would be something that the other competitors and even the judges had not seen before, being a muggle item, but like all the items that Veneficus possessed, he had taken steps to modify it to his own use.
"Sonorus!" Bagman declared, holding his wand to his throat to call across the lake to the observers. "All our champions are ready, and it is now time for the Second Task. Each champion will have one hour to recover what has been taken from them. On my whistle, the clock will start. On the count of three, then: one… two… three!"
The whistle echoed shrilly in the still air, and the crowd erupted with cheers and applause as the three champions surged into the water, sprinting for the deeps.
Veneficus could see Krum and Fleur with their wands out already, casting spells to augment their bodies to have air to spare for the hour. Veneficus had spent vast amounts of time debating how exactly he was to conquer the same problem, and he was confident that he had achieved the most ideal answer.
Brandishing his wand, Veneficus wove a simple transfiguration upon himself, placing fish-like gills into the sides of his neck. Taking a massive breath of oxygen rich air, the Sith Lord smiled as he dove headfirst into the water.
Normally, with the low complexity of the spell he cast, the gills would not function on their own, but Veneficus had far better than other spells and transfiguration to assist converting the water around him into oxygen. He had the Dark Side of the Force, as well as the energy of the lake itself and everything within it.
Cutting rapidly through the water, the Sith pulled on the Dark Side, feeding it through his open mouth along with the lake water and stimulating the gills to function, supplying all the air he needed. Throwing both arms behind him, he strongly shoved through the Force, propelling himself to overwhelming speed, outpacing either of his competitors.
The water was icy, but he had long learned to adapt himself to any environment, adjusting his own body temperature and metabolism with the Force. As he sped through the water, Veneficus opened up one of the modifications of his full body wetsuit, a magically expanded side pocket, containing several useful items that normally would not have been permitted in the tournament. Stashing his wand quickly, he withdrew the silvery durasteel hilt of his primary lightsaber.
Using the full pair would be more of a hindrance underwater, and the weapon was already at a disadvantage in this environment, even with the slight modifications that Veneficus performed to allow it to operate when submerged. Normally lightsabers would cease to function when the emitter was drenched in water of any kind, but the simple, yet highly underused modification of what amounted to a waterproof casing negated the defect completely with no side effects.
The Force warned him of danger in the near future, and his weapon would be more than needed in the coming hour. The crimson blade hungered for more blood, not being close to sated when he rampaged through Gringotts bank. His hand holding the hilt twitched in excitement at what awaited.
Darting rapidly over a thick meadow of light green weeds, Veneficus caught sight of movement between the blades of kelp-like vegetation. Veneficus spotted the grindylows before they surged up to try and attack him. Twisting in the water, the Sith Lord caught the first pair of water demons with a vicious slash from his saber, the red blade carving them in two, and halting the others' attack. The little aquatic creatures, suddenly very afraid of the powerful prey they had chosen, turned to flee, but Veneficus wouldn't allow that.
Reaching deep into the Force, Veneficus tore the grindylows' life force from their bodies. One after another shriveled and died even as Veneficus felt the surge of strength invigorate him. Propelling himself onward, Veneficus left the corpses to swirl in the underwater current, pinpointing himself to the source of Anguis' aura.
As the Sith Lord drew nearer, he could hear the alluring sound of mersong, chanting out what must have been the clue from the egg that he never listened to. As he drew nearer, a cluster of crude stone dwelling stained with algae loomed out of the gloom on all sides. Merpeople were everywhere, mainly hiding from his approach, but a large number were gathered in the center of the village.
As he approached, many more merpeople came out of their dwellings to watch, but his aura of the Dark Side prevented any from daring too near. The main cluster were gathered in what amounted for a town square, where a choir was assembled and singing the riddle out across the lake, obviously calling to the champions as a clue to where they need look. Anguis was there, unconscious and tied between two other children to a crude statue of a merperson hewed from an underwater boulder.
As Veneficus approached the hostages, he was less than surprised that the merpeople guards intercepted him, threatening the Sith Lord with their primitive spears. Stretching a hand forward, Veneficus had to stop himself before he reflexively shot lightning at the merpeople. Many Force based abilities, as well as magic operated differently underwater. The same lightning that would fry the merpeople would also harm him as well.
Instead, knowing that the time he could operate without observation was running short as the other Champions drew ever nearer, he drew his lightsaber, cleaving the nearest merperson's weapon in two.
Expectedly, seeing the threat, the other merguards surged forward, intent on keeping their captives. Drawing the force around him, Veneficus caused a whirlpool to appear, buffering the oncoming guards away, even as he propelled himself past them toward Anguis. Shunting the other two captives aside with the whirlpool, Veneficus slashed the kelp-rope that was binding his acolyte, seized the boy by the collar and heaved him upward. Together they rode the whirlpool up toward the surface, angry merpeople surging up all around him.
Quickly, Veneficus slipped his saber hilt into the expanded pocked, fishing out his wand in its place, moments before the pair of them broke the surface, rocketing out of the water by several feet.
The crowd on the far side roared with excitement, and the merpeople, fearful yet unable to communicate above water, shied away from Veneficus as he and the now conscious Anguis started swimming back to shore.
Even as they were both plucked from the cold water and settled with thick towels to wait for the other champions to finish. The look in Dumbledore's eyes as he spoke with the merpeople at the edge of the lake was priceless however, even if the old man learned a bit more of what Veneficus was capable of, he was still no nearer stopping the plans he had set in motion.
As the old man glanced in his direction, Veneficus smirked, savoring the look of horror that crossed Dumbledore's face as their eyes met.