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February 24, 1995
The day had finally come for the second of the three tasks to begin. Harry had spent almost all of his time since the very first task studying alongside Daphne to the point that he had only taken her, his girlfriend, on one date… in which it wasn't really a date. In fact, he felt horrible about it since he'd honestly taken Tracey out just as many times and she wasn't his girlfriend despite her internal monologues and fantasies.
"You look like you're pretty deep in your thoughts," Tracey said to him, one of her long nails jabbing him in the face enough to make him flinch away from her.
"I was. I was thinking about how much preparation has gone into this moment — Daphne and I have spent well over a hundred hours in less than a month studying together. We lear—" Harry was interrupted with a huff from Tracey as she folded her arms aggressively.
"I know," she said to him with bitter undertones in her voice. "Believe me, I know you two dorks spent far too long studying and not nearly enough time kissing or cuddling up together. Morgana, Harry, you're Harry Potter. We've all heard about you over in Slytherin thanks to Malfoy, there's really nothing we don't think you can do even if he says every store we hear about you is grossly exaggerated. I bet you'd be just fine without all the studying and Daphne, she could use a good broom cupboard snog."
Harry snorted. He wasn't one to deny the thought of a broom cupboard snog with Daphne, but there wasn't a chance in the world that he'd initiate it. "Wait, where is Daphne? Usually, she comes down before you considering how late you sleep in… have you seen her?"
Tracey shook her head with such force that her hair went up and hit him in the face, but he didn't pay it any attention as he looked about the grounds they were lingering on. There was less than an hour before the task would start and while he wasn't the nervous sort, especially now that he'd learned a fair few spells that meant to help him underwater and moreover the fact that he'd allied up with Cedric, but Daphne was Daphne. She was meant to be his main supporter and she'd even agreed to give him a good luck kiss after Tracey had made a joke about it.
"I don't think I've seen her since last night when we were together," Tracey said curiously, the girl scrunching up her face as she stood on the tips of her toes to look around the open meadow they were in. "I could go look for her back by the castle if you want, otherwise I don't really know what to tell you. It's not like she's gonna miss this, not for the world."
Harry nodded a few times at those words to remind himself of the fact that Daphne really was interested in him and that she wasn't one to ditch him after all the time she'd chased after him and the wonderful Yule evening they'd had together, but he still felt off. Something wasn't right, he didn't know what that something was, but he could just feel it.
"I'm going to go take a look by the stands and speak with Cedric," Harry said after he swallowed a bit of spit that was pooling up in his mouth, the nervousness about Daphne's whereabouts getting to him as his mind ran rampant. "Come and tell me if you've found her? Please? You could even bring her with you, that'd be grand."
Tracey nodded emphatically and pulled him into a tight hug, she even left a small kiss on his right cheek before she pulled back with as a big of a goofy smile as he'd ever seen on her face. "I'll do just that for you, lover boy. You focus on your task and I'll focus on the romance, good luck, Harry!"
He smiled, thanked her and made his way towards the stands with a decent enough pace. His mind was free to go bonkers without Tracey near him, and it did; many possibilities ranging from Malfoy to one of the other Slytherins getting at her were the most prevalent, but eventually, his mind settled on something far more sinister that made a since of dread pool in his stomach.
Somebody had entered his name into the tournament in the hopes that he was killed, he knew that, it was an easy thing to tell. What if that very same person had done something to Daphne to get at him or to throw him off? He wouldn't put it past Voldemort's followers to hurt an innocent witch even if she were Pureblooded and in Slytherin.
If anybody's touched her… Harry thought, many and more ideas of how he'd handle them coming to his mind and each more violent than the last, I don't know what I'll do to them.
That thought was scarier to him than any promise of violence, for the truth of it and the lines in which he wouldn't cross were nonexistent.
"Well if it isn't Harry Potter himself," Greeted Cedric when Harry broke through the tent quickly enough that the flaps made a loud noise, one that drew the attention of the other three occupants.
Krum muttered something as he went back to sitting on a chair, his head in his hands and his wand in his lap. Fleur didn't mind him either, the French girl simply kept her prim posture on a cushioned loveseat as she waited for the countdown to finish. It was only Cedric, as it'd been since the start of the task, that went beyond the lowest of limits required of niceties.
"Hey Cedric," Harry said quietly when he made his way over to the older boy so that he didn't bother the others; he didn't care for them, but he didn't need any enemies hundreds of feet below the water. "You looked off, is something wrong?"
Cedric smiled despite the look not fully sitting right on his face. "I'm good, mate, just a bit of trouble with Cho, I think," he scratched awkwardly at his shoulder before he shook his head and motioned further towards a corner of the tent, at which point he elaborated on his words. "I thought her and I were good as ever, just like you and Daphne seem to be, but I think I've said something wrong to her."
"Why's that?" Harry asked as he leaned toward his friend. He wasn't the best when it came to witches — he was complete shite with them — but he'd do anything to help his only mate at this point in time.
"She's not seen me off today. We did our usual night routine of a hug and a few kisses, she wished me good luck with that beautiful smile of hers, and now she's just not come down," Cedric shook his head, a sorrowful look about him as his eyes found the tent's entrance. "I'll have to apologise for something, I just don't have any clue as to what it was… enough about that, I should be asking how you're doing instead of off-loading my problems onto you. You're like a little brother who's annoyingly good at Quidditch, but you're still my brother."
Harry laughed and punched at the older boy's shoulder at the annoying remark, but truth be told, he was touched by the statement. Cedric was widely considered the nicest person in all of Hogwarts, only occasionally tying with Susan Bones who could be a bit too snippy for Harry's liking. The fact that the boy had said that despite their Quidditch rivalry and infrequent conversations meant more to Harry than he could have guessed it would.
"Thanks, Cedric, and for what it's worth, I think Cho's fine. Daphne, she's done the same thing this morning — wait, you didn't notice anything missing, did you? Nothing from your trunk or anything else?" Harry asked, the dots finally connecting in his mind as he realised what the precious something was to him.
By the look on Cedric's face, he had caught on too. "Nothing, there was nothing missing that I took notice of," he said, a cautious glance around the tent given before he leaned a bit further in. "You think they're what we're meant to be saving at the bottom of the lake? I don't know much that'd keep them safe down below if we're meant to be going into this thinking there'll be a lot of fighting to do."
"They'll be fine, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let them get hurt," Harry responded automatically, the answer more of his hope than anything else considering how pants up the tournament had gone thus far.
Cedric nodded a few times, happy with silence before he broke that just as quickly as it had settled. "I'm happy we agreed to work together this go. I wasn't as nice as I should have been, I could have stopped my housemates from wearing those pins… you're as good a person as any, Harry. Let's save them and both get out of this alright, yeah?"
Harry stuck out a hand and nodded as Cedric shook it. "They'll be just fine, we'll make sure of it."
Not more than ten minutes later and the two were under the water, swimming together towards the bottom of the lake with one goal on their minds; save the missus, each of them.
Cedric and Harry had learned the same set of spells, at least from what Harry could tell based on their matching bubblehead charms. Each of their versions of it looked strong and well-cast, but that wasn't an easy thing to tell until something went against it or, in a worst-case scenario, it burst due to a lack of persistence. Harry wasn't sure about the other boy, but drowning certainly wasn't high on his list of preferred ways to go.
Harry stopped that rather morbid thought when they came upon three paths they could take, each of them looking dangerous and horrible in their own right. Cedric had gone a few meters forward, but he too came to a halt when he looked over his shoulder and saw that Harry was treading water.
What is it?
Cedric's look was questioning enough that Harry could practically hear the words despite their underwater presence — he hadn't mastered the fish folk spell, so any hopes of speaking underwater were lost — and in response to the look, he pointed slowly enough that the other boy could see his three points of reference.
One, the most obvious, was a path through the thick undergrowth of the lake. The vines were densely packed with sharp barbs and they went up for nearly thirty meters, inside of those reeds the two boys could see large figures and small ones alike lurking in the shadows, their eyes just as likely watching them as they were doing. Second, was a cave that looked as if it went under the thick, maze-like forest of vines and whilst that was far more appealing, who could tell where it ended, how deep it went or what was waiting inside for them. Finally, their last choice was the most obvious — they could go over or around the vines, but who knew how long the latter option would take or if the things lurking within would attack them if they did the former. Honestly, by the look of it, every path was a losing scenario.
After that thorough evaluation and an urge to scratch his head, Harry turned to face Cedric and waved to draw the boy's attention. Once he had it, he did the only thing that made sense to him, he mouthed words to the older boy; What do you reckon we should do?
Cedric looked back at their options, back at Harry, back at their options and finally, he pointed at the one Harry wasn't especially fond of, but he nonetheless agreed with, the cave. It would keep them tightly packed and close together, which was nice and all, but what if it got so cramped only one person could fit through it at a time or if it opened up to reveal hundreds of little creatures that picked away at them?
Just as the two were about to start their way towards the cave entrance, a bubbleheaded figure descended between them — Harry and Cedric each aimed their wands at it, but they lowered them when they saw that Fleur had joined their group. She was looking between them, a look of disdain on her face when she understood the two were working together and with a smug smile as she understood their nervousness, she tore off in the direction of the vine forest.
She's an idiot, Harry thought as she went out without a care in the world, her feet kicking as quickly as they could.
Cedric seemed to share the sentiment even if the boy would never talk poorly of her and before too much longer, the two had entered the cave with Harry leading the way, his wand giving a great deal of light to the path while Cedric kept watch of their rear, a shield charm raised in preparation of an attack. Harry wasn't sure if that was smart, using all that energy but he wasn't against it. It made sense to stay as safe as possible and who knew what would be coming upon them from behind?
Merlin, for all they knew, Krum could follow after them and take them both out, they were the two ahead of him, after all.
Harry, lost in thought as he was, nearly tripped a trap. He registered the thing just a moment before he stepped on it and he reached an arm out to Cedric to stop the boy. There, before the two of them, were dozens of antennae littering the ground of the cave. They looked like they belonged to lobsters, shrimp or something of that family, but they were far larger and sharp to the touch by the look of them.
It was likely these that were meant to stop them and so, carefully, Harry brightened his spell to get a better look ahead of them. Sure enough, the things were visible all throughout the cave as they got deeper into it and at the far end of the cave, near the exit of which was now visible, he could see holes in the wall that looked like something would come out of them. They would have to transfigure the holes and make them unbreachable once they were close enough, else whatever was inside would come after them.
Cedric tapped Harry on the shoulder and pointed at something that was almost perfectly camouflaged on the floor of the cave; a trident. It had bits of something grey and reddish around it, but without a sense of smell and definitely without touch, Harry wouldn't be able to tell what it was. That as it was, the best choice he could make with Cedric at his back would be to avoid touching it altogether. They didn't need any trouble, the rest of the task would likely give them that in spades.
Slowly, the traps detected and opponents at this point in time discovered, the two continued forward, only with far more caution than they had previously used. It made them move far slower, their swimming limited by their lack of kicking and their arms not pulling them along, but eventually, they came to the point between the antennae-having monsters and the holes in the wall. It was as good a place as any to stop at for a break and as they did so, Harry could feel Cedric tapping his shoulder. The boy had already transfigured the path behind them shut using stone and it looked very thick as well as durable should something try its luck against it.
Me, left — you, right.
Cedric mouthed those words to Harry before he pointed ahead of them at the holes in the walls and after seeing how good a job the older boy had only just done, Harry nodded. He wasn't one to turn down help and by the look of how many holes there were, it would be better if the two worked together to patch them before the creatures within came barrelling out.
Teamwork is the only way I see anybody surviving this tournament… if only Krum and Fleur could see th—
Harry was stopped mid-thought as he saw a bright flash of light at the end of the cave. It was multi-coloured and bright enough that they could see a figure encased in some sort of spell, a bunch of smaller figures chasing after it until it ascended out of their view. It was very unnerving and strange, enough so that Harry nearly turned to Cedric, but the boy was casting with a look of nervousness on his face — Harry very shortly thereafter found out the reason why that was.
The monsters within those holes were coming out thanks to the light and they were large, hideous, and worst of all, they had a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth the likes of which would chew through any person easily enough. Harry joined Cedric in transfiguring the remaining holes shut, but it was already too late for three of said holes; the creatures were out and they were large.
As they started to swim towards Harry and Cedric as snakes would, the two boys fired off a barrage of spells. Dozens and dozens they fired, the majority doing nothing to the slow-moving creatures until one lucky placement caught the thing in the eye. It stopped moving and straightened out, its mouth closing as it floated to the roof of the cave; the other two continued towards them, unbothered by the loss of their friend and still as horrible-looking as ever.
They were only twenty meters away now. Harry had seen what happened when a spell hit the creatures in the eye and whilst he wasn't sure if that was a fluke or something entirely different, it was all he had to go off of. Merlin did he hope that Cedric had seen the same because Harry knew for a fact that he wouldn't be able to hit the sluggish creatures in the eyes together. Truthfully, he wasn't even sure if he could manage it on the one, but he would have to try.
He fired off the same spell over and over and over again, one that paralysed whoever and whatever it hit, in the hopes of stopping the advancing creatures, but still they continued their movement forward. Those twenty meters soon turned to ten and Harry did the only thing that he thought made sense, he transfigured the way before them into a much thinner gap via stone. It was the same tactic they'd used against the other holes along the wall and whilst they would still get through his partial transfiguration, they would only do so one at a time.
Eyes, Harry screamed internally, wishing above all else that Cedric would understand why Harry was firing so rapidly at the creatures' faces, Hit them in the eyes and we might just survive this task!
Harry continued his rate of fire, on and on until finally, he tried a spell that he hadn't wanted to use; the cutting curse. With all of his want for his life to continue and his urgency to get Daphne back, he cast the spell at the creature. He half expected the thing wouldn't react to the spell, that it would have no effect the same as the many before it had, but his thoughts were wrong. Before his very eyes, he saw the creature split in two from its mouth all the way to the tip of its snake-like tail. The fact that he had just killed the creature wasn't lost on him, but the horrible visage it had and the fact that many prior champions had been killed outweighed the odds of it getting to live.
Cedric had noticed what he had done too and before Harry could fire off another spell, his friend did just as he had. That third creature had only been five or so meters away from them, its movement faster after its friend was killed, but it didn't matter. Just as the first had been dealt with and the second killed, so too was the third removed from their path. Any creature, monster or fellow magical who stood between the two wizards and their witches would lose, the only thing they'd be able to choose was if they took the chance to flee of their own volition.
Right as the thought was finished and they had the chance to take a brief pause to collect their bearings, Harry felt a tap at his shoulder. He looked over it to see Cedric smiling at him whilst the older boy held a thumbs up — good job — Harry could all but hear it in Cedric's usual friendly tone. In response, despite the seriousness and stakes, Harry returned the gesture. Not more than three seconds later and the two were off again, their direction unchanged and their caution far higher than it previously had been.
As they dashed the last bit of the cave that remained, the lobster-like creatures firmly behind them and unable to chase, the two saw that their transfigurations had held. Whatever those creatures were called, they were attempting to break through the barriers, but they wouldn't be able to. That was perfect for Harry and Cedric, but they decided once they made their exit at the opposite mouth of the cave that it wasn't enough. Together, with Cedric watching the way that lay before them, Harry removed the entirety of the exit via transfiguration and for extra safety, he covered it in the dense sand mixed with rocks. When he was finished, there was only a small marker to signify where it once had been.
As soon as that was accomplished, the two lads made their best attempt at a sprint whilst underwater and not too long after, they were greeted with the many shapes of merfolk. Just as they'd seen in the cave, a great majority of them had tridents or other weapons in their hands, but unlike that fallen one, the owners were muscular and ready for a fight with whatever came at them.
Tentatively, Harry and Cedric made their presence known with their wands raised, but they were paid no attention to. Whatever the Merfolk were guarding against, it wasn't the Champions and as such, whilst remaining very close together, the two wizards swam through the loose circle of the Merfolk so that they could continue with the task. Not more than a minute later, the two came across something that had them both distraught and in Harry's case, angry.
Daphne, Cho, Hermione and a blonde girl no older than Ginny were all suspended underwater. All of them were in some state of forced sleep, almost like a coma with their eyes closed and their bodies appearing dead; the shade of their skin and the lack of their lungs expanding set Harry off beyond measure, but he reigned himself in if only for the sake of Daphne's safety. She wouldn't and couldn't be dead, the tournament wouldn't do that, they wouldn't be allowed to kill witches and wizards for the Champions to only recover the bodies.
Cedric patted him on the back and when Harry turned towards the older boy to see how he was holding up, he began to mouth words to him.
Take them all?
It took an attempt or two beyond what Harry would admit, but once he understood what Cedric meant, he nodded. They wouldn't leave anybody behind, especially after that beacon of light had gone off; it had been another champion more than likely and what that would mean for their friend, family member or partner, Harry wasn't sure.
Slowly, the two started towards the suspended individuals and as was familiar to them whilst within the Merfolk territory, they were unhindered. Scarcely a look was shot their way as they drifted towards those who remained asleep and eventually, finally, the two were only a meter or so away from all who were meant to be saved. Harry couldn't resist the urge once he was that close and because of that, he touched Daphne's hand to feel that she really was present and before his very eyes.
She was dreadfully cold, her pulse was lower than he thought was normal and her skin was prune-like beyond belief. All in all, Harry was very displeased with the results and he turned towards Cedric, nervousness likely on his face as he motioned towards the four captives and then towards the surface, unblocked and with light shining on down from above. They were so close.
Cedric nodded and broke Fleur's chains, then he pointed his wand towards Hermione's — that was when it went… tits up, to steal a term from Ron. The Merfolk, passive and uncaring before Cedric had done that second action, jumped into action with their tridents pointed squarely at his chest. One of them held up a finger, one finger, and pointed towards the surface. It wasn't a surprise to realise you were only meant to save your one person, but neither Cedric nor Harry could accept that.
Still, smart as ever, Cedric leaned away and stopped for the moment to cast a look in Harry's direction. Harry only nodded, brief as he could and like that, a firmness that he had never seen came to being in Cedric's expression. One second was all it took for Harry and Cedric to be going rapidly upward with all four of their companions climbing alongside them and whilst that was according to plan, the Merfolk chasing after them, wasn't.
The distance had been ten or so meters, the wizards' quickness and the spells they'd used to cause a light show in addition to a large set of bubbles had stunned the Merfolk for a few seconds, but this was their domain. Nothing would change that and as Harry looked down, his feet kicking as much as they could, he understood that they wouldn't be able to make it unless he or Cedric stoo—
Shark!
Harry's mind had all of a second to scream that before something barrelled into the first Merfolk, taking a chunk from it and sending the thing reeling as it came to make a second pass. As soon as it slowed enough to take the turn and Harry's mind could catch up with what he'd just seen, he realised it wasn't a shark. Krum had transfigured himself and while that went well from what Harry had just witnessed, the many scratches across his body screamed in the contrary.
But the opportunity and time wouldn't be wasted, Harry would take advantage of the chance he had been given and so he urged himself up just as before. His own safety didn't matter all that much to him, but that of Daphne and the others — Daphne especially — did. As soon as she was safe, he could guarantee that Cedric would join him in coming for Krum after what the other boy had just done and continued to do.
Harry looked down in awe as Krum made yet another pass, this time sending a Merfolk man of immense size into a pillar. It looked painful, the man didn't move and Krum… was bleeding, there was a large mark on his shoulder and his wand was focusing exclusively on offensive magic the likes of which Harry knew he wasn't completely capable of. It was impressive, very impressive and yet, Harry could only wonder as he further ascended why the other boy wasn't treating the wound on his shoulder; many and more spells could easily stop the bleeding.
That alone nearly made Harry send Cedric by himself but when he saw Krum begin to slow, his wand starting to move jerkily as the Merfolk closed in on him, Harry didn't have the time to think before he acted. He sent a charm towards Cedric, one that should grab his attention and he bolted towards Krum despite the lack of comradeship they had. He was far now, the time and distance he had bought had been incredible as he distracted the Merfolk, but that was now the other boy's greatest hindrance.
Closer and closer the Merfolk got, their tridents moving almost as quickly as Krum's spells raced out of their wands. Harry could see the older, muscular boy attempt to dodge as he swam like he was born to the water, but it wasn't enough. Small cut after small cut, the occasional tear or jab that landed, they were tearing him apart with a ferociousness that urged Harry ever onward and finally, when he was close enough, he shot forward with one of the new spells cast on himself; he needed the best vision possible but beyond that, he needed the ability to communicate.
Harry yelled out a singular word, "Stop," and he could hear it as his bubble collapsed, his oxygen limited now that the charm had been broken. It made the creatures hesitate and Krum turn towards him, and so he said it again. All of the Merfolk hesitated, their visages ugly and terrifying, but that was the chance that Krum needed as he barrelled past them and up, in the direction of Harry.
He could see a flash of a trident, the horrible image of a shark's face moving towards him as the sudden lack of oxygen began to settle in on him and try as he might, with all of the spells he had learned, he couldn't focus hard enough to recast the one thing that mattered most of all. His vision got fuzzy, an impact with a surge of pain struck him and finally, he felt a sense of weightlessness descend as his mind retreated into the depths of his being.