Previous Chapter:

When he felt as if his day couldn't get any better, Harry had wrapped his arms around Viktor's neck after they left the hall early, tired of the crowd. What the boy said after though, brought his soaring spirits crashing down back to the ground.

"Thank you for the day, it was the best day of my life. I've never had a friend before and I'm glad to have you as one, even if it's only now that I realize what you are to me."

Chapter Three

The moment Harry felt Viktor tense under his touch, he ripped his arms off and ran. The piercing chill of the December winds blew past him as he ran, perforating the nerve endings in the skin of his face. He tore open the curtains and threw himself into the comforts of his bed. Fortunately for him, he didn't run into anyone on his way to his dorm, as everyone was in the hall celebrating their Yule. He couldn't believe what he did and said. He was drunk of the overwhelming feelings of joy he had never felt before and spluttered out things that had him wallowing in regret now. What made him not only call, but tell the boy that Viktor was his friend? He didn't even consider Viktor as a friend in the first place; he neither needed, nor wanted friends.

You know you do, you know how much you want companionship. A voice inside him said.

He shook his head in denial; no companionship was for the weak. Only weak people succumbed to their needs for companionship and Harry was anything but weak. Hanging around Viktor however, was much more enjoyable to Harry than spending time on his own. Perhaps, Harry did regard the older boy as a friend, but it still didn't mean that he should have voiced it out. He had made himself vulnerable once again and he loathed that feeling of emotional attachment.

Dread pooled in Harry's stomach as he dragged his feet to the Great Hall for breakfast. Even if he had came to terms with his newly realized feelings for the other boy, he still felt incredibly awkward having to face him. He had be dragging his inevitable trip to the Great Hall, but eventually washed up and went to the Great Hall, albeit late. He was greeted by thousands of murmurs and stares, as he stepped into the Great Hall. He was accustomed to all the commotion, but he hadn't done anything yesterday to garner such attention. He shrugged it off and sat at the end of the table where the Year Ones were, away from the usual place he normally sat. His owl dropped off his daily copy of the Daily Prophet as he spread jam over his toast. On the cover page sat a picture of him and Viktor in an embrace- or at least what it would seem like from the angle of the shot. As if regretting telling Viktor of his feelings wasn't enough; the whole scene was now captured down and publicized for the whole wizarding world to see.

Joy.

He grabbed his toast and left, but not before glaring at the offensive newspaper.

Harry decided to skip classes that day, opting to sit by the lake instead. He'd rather take in some much needed fresh air and get away from all the nosey students than sitting through his stuffy, mediocre class. He grabbed a book on runes from his trunk and trotted down the stairs. He stayed in his bed till the first lessons commenced to avoid the ruckus, which left the common room empty. He was about to leave the Slytherin dormitories when suddenly, a surge of sharp pain pierced his scar, making him clutch his forehead in pain. It felt like minutes, even hours, before the pain subsided into a dull thrum. He wiped off the cold sweat with the sleeves of his robe before making his way to the lake.

It wasn't the first time his scar had hurt, but it was the first time it had caused him such excruciating pain. He had read up countless of books, in search for answers to why his scar hurt. Scars, even magical scars, were not meant to hurt like his did. Scars were an aftermath of an injury; not an injury on their own. He couldn't find a single clue, despite his extensive research, to what could have possibly caused the pain. Could it have something to do with Voldemort? Voldemort, was a man of remarkable skill and power, and Harry wouldn't find it surprising if the cause of the pain was him. Even though he knew who the cause of the pain most likely was, he still was clueless as to why his scar hurt.

He pushed the pain aside, flipping through his book instead. He had lately taken up an interest on Ancient Runes. Ancient Runes an ancient language that dated back to as long as the time of Merlin. It was an ancient, powerful form of magic, but as many historical things, most of it was long forgotten. He had chanced upon the book while browsing through a rather dubious looking bookshop along Knockturn Alley, and it sparked his interest in Ancient Runes. Most books only covered the translation of the runes and a rare few would skim through the history of it; but never did he ever find a book that was as in depth as this was. The book talked about the origins of Ancient Runes, of how and why it was made to come about and the many uses of Ancient Runes. Magic had existed long before wands had, and in the past, runes were used by wizards to channel their raw magic. Wizards would concentrate their magic and transfer it over to the surfaces they were carved on. They were a much more powerful than spells as they were an undiluted form of magic. Unlike spells, the wizards would have to channel their exact desires for the runes to work, which made runes much more specific and specialized than spells. They were permanent, for as long as they remained on the surface they were carved on. The downside to them however, was that the process of forming a rune could take long periods of time. He had initially planned to use gillyweed for the second task, but with the discovery of a book on how to form runes in Viktor's library, he decided to try crafting a rune instead.

He would either have to carve it onto his skin, or onto a pendant which he could wear around his neck during the task as a necklace. Most likely it would be the latter as rune carvings on human skin was irreversible. The human skin would absorb the magic, making it impossible for the rune to ever be erased. While being able to breath and see underwater would come in handy, having to experiment on himself was not something Harry would want to do, especially when the results were permanent. He picked up a a stone from the ground and started tracing random runes on it with his wand. It helped him to think of how he should construct certain runes. So far, he had succeeded in simple ones such as a placement rune, something which would return objects with runes carved on to a specific locus which had a matching rune carved on it. The first few tries had failed horrendously. He didn't specify magically what he wanted, but instead thought of it repeatedly mentally as he carved the rune. The sense of satisfaction he felt when the stone he carved the rune on returned the the ground on which a corresponding rune was carved got him hooked onto experimenting with runes.

He was thinking about what type of run he should carve. Another downside of runes was that most only had one function. It required large amounts of magic and years of experience in rune crafting for a wizard to be able to craft a multi function rune. He had tried crafting one, but even after multiple tries, he still couldn't get it right. Ancient Runes were still a foreign form of magic of which he had little to no experience in and he didn't have the capability to construct such a complex rune. He was wrecking his brains, trying to figure out how he could use his new found form of magic in the second task, when suddenly remembered something.

Thank Merlin for the eccentric behaviours of Luna Lovegood.

Harry strolled into the Great Hall minutes before the end of breakfast, as he did for the past month, grabbing a piece of toast before leaving the Hall to prepare for the second task. He twirled the chain of bottle caps around his fingers as he waited for the rest of the champions to arrive. He had first experimented his theory of using more than one runes combined with stones, but they were too heavy. Harry couldn't cast a feather light charm on the stones as it would have clashed with the magic of the runes and so, he decided to search for lighter alternatives. He could order pieces of metal to carve the runes on, but Wizarding metal was often refined with magic which would interfere with the runes, and he didn't have access to Muggle sources. In the end, he had gone to Lovegood, much to his embarrassment, to ask the girl for bottle caps. She handed him her necklaces, informing him brightly that they were made by muggle means as Narggles were attracted to magic. It seemed coincidental, but something about her smile made him feel as if she knew what he planned to use the bottle caps for.

The runes worked as expected. The different runes blended together perfectly and Harry was incredibly pleased with the results. He had spent the past few weeks getting used to the transformation caused by the runes, and improving them. Initially, he had crafted a rune that would allow him to breathe underwater, and one more that would allow him to see underwater. But after spending some time in the lake, Harry realized how difficult it was for the human body to maneuver underwater. The human body simply wasn't designed for anything but land, and Harry decided to make his hands and feet webbed, like that of a platypus, so it would be much easier for him to swim. True enough, with the addition of the new rune, he was able to swim much faster than he could before, and he could explore the lake, and search for the Mermaid Village, without having to tire himself out too much.

He heard Dumbledore announce the start of the second task, and jumped into the water, putting the necklace around his neck. Gills surfaces on the skin of his neck, and his feet and hands elongated, becoming webbed limbs. His eyes were protected from the water by a membrane, much like that of reptiles, and he was able to navigate the waters with ease. Deaclour and Diggory were lagging behind, both using a bubble head charm to breathe underwater. He saw a shark zoom past him which was without doubt, the animagus form of Viktor. Viktor had been learning animagi transformation before he came to Britain, and managed to partially transform into a shark. Upon decoding the hint, Viktor decided to continue practising his transformation, something he had put aside for the tournament. Sharks were swift and deadly creatures of the sea. They were one with the waters and it was no surprise that Viktor could overtake Harry so easily.

The route to the village was a route Harry was thoroughly familiarized with, thanks to his extensive exploration of the lake. It didn't take long for the melodious voices of the mermen to reach his ears, as he neared the village. He could see a shark circling four bodies that were charmed to sleep, wrapped tight in vines that held them to the floor of the lake. He swam closer and found the boy he was meant to save; Draco Malfoy.

Merlin, it was hilarious. The organizers were so desperate to find someone he would "sorely miss" that they simply chose the boy he sat next to in the Great Hall. Harry let out a choke of laughter, which came out as ascending bubbles. He pulled his knife which he had taken a habit to bring about since he started rune crafting, and freed Draco from the vines. Viktor was facing problems with freeing his hostage and bringing him back up as a shark, and hence, decided to follow Harry who had swam back up to the surface. The moment Viktor reached the surface, he transformed back and cast a bubble head charm on himself, before diving back down to free his friend. Draco had regained conscious the moment he breached the surface of the water, and Harry released him immediately, pulling his necklace off his neck. Harry swam to the platform where the matron, Madame Promfery was waiting for him with a fluffy, white towel. She wrapped him up in it the moment he got onto the platform, which made him roll his eyes in disbelief. She was a witch; couldn't she have simply cast a drying and warming charm instead? Harry shrugged the towel off, thankfully not noticed by the matron who turned her attention to a shivering and whining blonde, and transfigured it into a robe after he cast a drying spell on himself. He extended the favour to Draco who seemed rather grateful- well as grateful as an upset Malfoy could be he guessed.

Viktor soon reached the surface with a boy who Harry recognize was Viktor's room mate back in Drumstrang, followed by Diggory with a petite Asian girl, and a sobbing Deaclour. Apparently the mermen denied her entry to the village and had attacked her when she attempted to force her way in. Too bad for the Veela, Mermen and Veelas were known to have a long running feud, and it wasn't surprising that they had denied her entry, even if she wasn't a full Veela.

Ludo Bagman announced the results and Draco complained about manhandling and kidnapping old coots and their unethical treatment towards children.

"My father will here about this!" he heard Draco say as he turned to leave, but a large, familiar hand rested on his shoulder, putting his footsteps to a halt.

"May I have a bit of your time?"