Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or Campione!

Chapter 2

2 Weeks Earlier

Charlie Weasley's head burst out from under the lake. Water ran down his neck-length hair as he deactivated the bubble-head charm; needing all his magic to get back to shore. Harry clutched tightly in his arms, the ginger activated one of his authorities in an attempt to assist himself on the journey. His rushed judgement in jumping in after Harry hadn't provided him with much time to prepare himself for the push back to the shore. It also didn't help that even if some of the professors tried to lift them out of the water, neither Harry nor Charlie would be lifted… at all.

A mixed blessing, Campione were not affected by magic that was cast onto them, unless it was ingested. Potions still worked, and as Charlie learned quickly from one of the nastier witches involved with the Copper-Black Cross, there were many spells that could be forced to be ingested.

Mentally shuddering as he thought about those spells, Charlie continued the tiring swim. He was already exhausted, but he wouldn't let that stop him from getting to the shore. Screams of encouragement were coming from the dock, and it turned out that he had emerged nearly half a kilometer away from where he had dived in. Swimming awkwardly, one arm wrapped around Harry's waist and the other pulling the water in a lopsided stroke, he covered the distance.

Finally reaching the shore, he was lifted out of the water by Hagrid; who must have come running when he heard about Harry's dangerous situation. Thanking the man, Charlie was barely able to lay Harry on the platform before he received a crushing hug from Hogwarts' groundskeeper.

Charlie grinned ever-so-slightly at the man's babbling and crying, it had been a stressful situation and he wasn't surprised by Hagrid's reaction. It just hurt that he would have to keep the full truth of what happened from the man who had helped him get the job at the dragon reserve. Campione weren't well looked upon in the wizarding world; in many cases they were viewed as worse than any half-breed – dark or light.

For that reason, only certain individuals were granted the knowledge of who was a Campione, and who wasn't, within the wizarding world. Seeing Madame Pomfrey pushing through the crowd of people, Charlie chuckled. A stalwart member of the Bronze-Black Cross, Pomfrey had been the one who had explained the situation to him after he had defeated his first heretic god. She had also allowed him to tell Fillius about his situation. She trusted the diminutive professor and told Charlie to do the same.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Charlie met Pomfrey's eyes and mouthed "later" to her. Now was not the time to explain his involvement, or what he had done. There were many professors and students who would want to know why someone completely uninvolved in the tournament had gotten involved, and Charlie still needed to come up with a suitable explanation. Or, in the very least, something he could easily bullshit his way through.

"Impressive Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said as he approached. "It's wonderful to see Harry back with us. How did you do it?"

"Dragon handler not being suitable," Charlie gasped out, "that's a joke. We're taught spells to help us subdue massive creatures. The squid wasn't that different. Cast a few spells, and it dropped."

He hadn't spent too much energy getting to the squid, or bringing Harry back up to the surface; but, he needed to put on an act if he wanted to prevent questions from being asked. There were too many things that could be brought to the forefront that he didn't need if he didn't push the act. And, after years of doing it around the other dragon handlers, he had gotten pretty good at it.

"Ah, that is very true. I must apologize for my reaction prior," Dumbledore said. "It was not my intent to belittle you, or your clearly impressive skills."

Charlie nodded in acceptance, but his eyes focused on Pomfrey as she whisked Harry away, her wand twirling and magic emanating from it as she cast diagnosis spells.

"Get him to the medical wing," she called out to one of the assistants provided to her for the tournament. "We'll move him if need be."

Charlie prayed that that would be the case. He didn't want to have to attempt to sneak past Dumbledore so that he could speak with Harry. The man was far too magically powerful and even with his resistance to magic, Charlie wasn't sure that he could bypass everything Dumbledore could do. His prayers weren't answered as Harry stabilized within three hours after arriving in the hospital wing. For the rest of that day, Charlie cursed his terrible luck.

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Hermione Granger felt the tears in her eyes as she sat beside Harry's still form. The boy hadn't woken up in four days, and she was starting to get worried. He was never this far gone after his adventures. He always woke up before a week had passed. Usually two days at the most. This was the first time that he had been out for so long without any word of his improvement. After steadying out at the end of the first day, he hadn't been improving by much and everything that Madame Pomfrey had been doing wasn't working.

"He vill be alright," Viktor Krum said to her, attempting to ease her nerves. "You have said that he has gone through similar situations, no?"

"Yes," Hermione breathed out, appreciative of the large Bulgarian's support.

When she had agreed to be his date to the Yule Ball, Hermione knew that she was just trying to show up Harry and Ron – initially. However, when the two of them had started talking, she found that Viktor as a lot sweeter than she had expected. He was intelligent as well, something she hadn't seen coming, and had managed to teach her about more of the customs of the wizarding world. Particularly, what it was like in Eastern Europe.

And boy, were there a lot of differences. She had discovered that not every witch and wizard was sent to Durmstrang. There were many who were trained in different branches of magic by organizations that were littered across the world. If the massive school didn't hold the education that a witch or wizard wanted, then they sought out an apprenticeship with one of these organizations in an attempt to properly learn how to handle their magic.

Releasing Harry's hand, Hermione stood up and prepared to leave the room. She needed to go get something to eat and prepare for classes the next day. Dinner would almost be over and she didn't want to completely miss out on getting some nourishment.

"I vill stay here with him for a little bit," Viktor said as he took her seat. "If he vakes, I shall get you."

Hermione nodded, appreciative for the young man's kindness. Viktor claimed that he wanted to know more about Harry when he awoke, the teen's noble nature having intrigued the quidditch star. Hermione was pleased with that. Her growing feelings for Viktor meant that she wanted him to get along with her friends and Harry seemed to be earning that already, even if he was unconscious for the time being.

Stepping outside of the hospital wing, the bushy-haired teen swiftly made her way towards the Great Hall. Time was running short and she had none to spare. Reaching it with enough time, she stepped inside as cautiously as possible and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Scanning over the food that was still available, she put together a meal that looked suitably satisfying, before grabbing a napkin and filling it with some food for Viktor. He was definitely going to be missing dinner and she didn't want him to go without food for the rest of the night.

"Hermione," a male voice called out to her as she began eating. "Do you have a moment?"

Looking up, she saw that Cedric Diggory was approaching. Putting aside her food, once again, for the time being she beckoned for him to sit across from her; the Gryffindor table relatively empty due to the lateness of her dinner.

"Thanks, I'm glad I could find you," Cedric said, grinning politely. "Is Harry doing any better?"

Hermione's eyes were downcast as soon as he asked, and Cedric seemed to be able to infer what that meant.

"Oh; not yet? Damn," Cedric cursed. "Are you doing alright?"

"I'm doing fine, Viktor's been there for me," she said; answering him after a few moments. "Are you and Ms. Chang okay? I heard that she regained consciousness enough to see the squid herself."

"Those are just rumours," Cedric denied. "She told me that she began to regain consciousness on the way up, but it was too dark for her to see anything. That and her eyes were too bleary from the long sleep."

"That's good," Hermione said, "and how about you?"

"I'm not entirely sure. This is just so much to take in," Cedric admitted. "Who would have thought that we would end up in a situation that the headmasters aren't even sure about."

Hermione nodded in agreement. Professors Dumbledore, Karkaroff and Madame Maxime had all seemed stumped by the stories given to them by the other three champions. And then when Charlie had emerged from the lake, he had claimed that it was purely his skills from being a dragon handler that allowed him to get Harry back. If it was that simple, then wouldn't one of the professors have been able to do it?

"Well, Cho's going to start wondering where I am, so I'll be going. Please let me know if Harry gets better."

"I will."

With that, Cedric left, allowing Hermione to focus on her meal. However, his comments left thoughts running through Hermione's mind. What made Charlie the right one for the job? Was there something he was hiding from all of them?

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Poppy Pomfrey busied herself in the hospital wing as she kept an eye out for Harry. After finally getting a chance to speak with Charlie a day earlier, she was now certain of what she needed to do for the boy. He was going through the same process she oversaw with Charlie six years earlier. Turning to her personal potions brewing set up, the matronly witch gave it a quick check before heading to grab some more of her personal ingredients.

Harry was no longer able to be effected by their magic, his newfound abilities providing him with a near impenetrable immunity to the magic of common wizards and witches. However, Poppy knew how to work around that. Potions could be ingested and that was the only known way to cause a Campione to react to external magic. At least, it was the only known way that Poppy was comfortable with.

Going through her potions, the medi-witch grabbed the necessary ones and returned to Harry. Coaxing his mouth open, the witch poured the liquid down his throat, ensuring that he didn't choke as it went down. Emptying the bottle, she grabbed the next one and repeated the process. Harry would need plenty of potions to help him over his transition. When she had watched over Charlie's ascendance, she hadn't known exactly what potions would work on him. But, after plenty of trial and error, she had found the right set to settle him down. It was with that knowledge that she found herself performing the same routine with the younger boy.

Coughing and spluttering interrupted her actions as Harry's eyes burst open. Startled, Poppy forced herself to keep a hold on the boy as she grabbed a sleeping potion. Keeping him under would be the humane thing to do while he ascended. The pain and suffering that his body would go through would, presumably, be easier while he was unconscious.

Charlie had screamed and convulsed for days when he had ascended, and even then he was barely conscious at the time either. If Harry was fully alert as it was happening, she had no doubt that it would be far more intense than what she had previously dealt with.

"This will all be worth it," she said.

Pouring the potion into Harry's mouth, the teen relaxed into her arms; allowing her to lay him down. What would happen to him would be worth it, Poppy had to remind herself this each time she looked at him.

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It had been a week since the second task and Fleur Delacour was still in a state of stunned silence. Although her headmistress had been adamant that everything was going to be fine moving onwards, the part-veela couldn't find it in herself to believe the woman. She had seen a young man, she wouldn't dare call him a boy again, put himself in between her and a creature of unknown origins or power. Despite what everyone was saying, and what the redhead who had gone in after him had said, there was no way that was a regular giant squid. There was something about the creature that disturbed her. Being a veela made it difficult for her underwater, but this was beyond that.

She shuddered violently. The squid had provoked her avian nature; almost as if it was attempting to pick a fight with her and her specifically. Underwater, that would have been disastrous. It would have destroyed her capability to maneuver, as well as her ability to fight. She couldn't thank Harry enough for his actions. What he had done was nothing short of heroic.

Blushing, Fleur pushed aside the thought. There was no need for her to become another tittering fangirl. Yet, she still wanted to thank him at the very least. Standing, she moved to the entrance to her room. As the Beauxbatons champion, she had been granted a private room; a luxury the other students didn't have. Stepping outside, she quickly left the carriage. If they didn't mind, she wanted to check up on the boy.

As she proceeded towards the castle, she hoped that Harry hadn't woken up. Despite the act of confidence she had before others, she didn't know what she'd do if he were to speak to her. Pushing that thought aside, she determined that she wanted to make sure he was okay, more than she wanted to dwell on her social deficiencies.

Finding herself outside the sterile room, she hesitated. Hand reaching tentatively towards the door handle, the young woman felt all her internal debates roaring back up at her. Was she welcome there? Even after how she had treated the young man after he had been added to the group of champions? Shaking her head violently, Fleur knew that what she was doing wasn't wrong. The other champions had already been by to check up on him. Her presence was just like theirs. However, he had saved her sister, and her. If she were being honest, she would say that it left an impression: a strong impression.

No, she would not let that deter her. Pushing the door open, the young woman stepped inside. Looking over the rows of beds, she spotted Harry; tossing and turning. Worried, she made her way closer. The matron of the hospital wing wasn't around, prompting Fleur to act more boldly than she would have if the kindly woman was around.

Coming to a stop beside Harry's bed, a wave of magic washed over her; leaving her breathless. He was changing. Whatever happened underneath the lake was changing him. Another wave of his magic washed over her and her eyes widened.

She knew what was happening to him!

End Chapter 2

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait for an update. This chapter has been in the work for a while, and I'm terribly sorry if it isn't as long as everyone expected. I had to make some changes to plot structure for the story after reading some guest reviews (that pointed out some things about Campione that I didn't know, and upon double checking, discovered I needed to know so thanks for the info). I'm now ready to get this story moving in full force, and hope to not encounter a drought like what had happened.

Now this chapter was fun to write because it gave some insight into how others responded to Harry's ordeal; prior to him waking up. The next chapter will jump back to the present and start the main plot of the story. I hope to have it done within the next little while and will post it promptly. However, I will also be working on and posting a fic in the Madoka Magica fandom as well, so updates will, hopefully, alternate between the two.

Finally, before I end this author's note, I want to say that this will be a Harry x Harem story. I've come to that decision while working on the plot outline for the rest of the story. So, I hope you readers look forward to this and I'll have more to say with the next chapter.