Title: Kiss.

Author: AspergianStoryteller.

Genre: Supernatural/General.

Summary: When a dementor tried to Kiss Harry Potter, it got more than it bargained for. And Harry did not walk away unaffected. Don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 31: Before The Second Task.

On the way back, Harry and Moody had briefly talked about strange things gong on – the Dark Mark at the World Cup, the Death Eaters, the Tournament... Harry lent Moody the Marauder's Map since he did really owe him now, and Moody said Harry would make a good auror.

It was an interesting idea, Harry thought in bed, but he'd like to see just how scarred and torn up the other aurors were first.

A cushion flew over Harry's head. He ignored it and continued telling Ron and Hermione in whispers, his adventures last night. So far, Ron thought Snape was probably suspicious if Moody was searching his office, Hermione thought not, and was more concerned about Mr. Crouch being up and about when he was supposedly ill – he must be missing Winky's care now. And Harry was confused about Snape's conflicting behaviour; the man hated or at least really disliked him (he'd been better since their "detentions" down in the chamber), and bore a grudge against his dad. He loved taking points from him and issuing detentions. But he kept saving Harry's life. And what had he done with his first chance if he was on his second now?

Then Harry told them of what had happened in the bathroom – fully. It was uncomfortable when he mentioned the idea of having an actual part of Voldemort's soul in him. His friends had never heard of that happening before, except maybe the thing with Tom Riddle's dairy. Hermione promised to look it up, if she had could spare the time during their scramble to find Harry a way to breathe underwater.

During lunch, Harry wrote to Sirius about the thing with Mr. Crouch, Moody and Snape, and discussed the second task with Ron and Hermione. They had to rule out using S.C.U.B.A gear; the muggles would notice it zooming across the countyside. And since they hadn't covered human transfiguration in class yet, Harry couldn't turn himself into a submarine. It could go horribly wrong. He didn't want to go around with a periscope sticking out of his head, thank you very much. He could attack someone in front of Moody... nah. He might get turned into a rodent. They'd have to study again.

XXX xxx XXX

'And then he left,' Myrtle finished.

Professor Dumbledore looked very thoughtful.

'Thank you for telling me, Myrtle,' he said. 'You did the right thing by saving Harry. I'm sure he will always be grateful to you.' What, interesting news. And disturbing. The tiny idea he'd had last year was growing larger.

Myrtle blushed. 'I hope so, Professor,' she mumbled. 'It'd be nice if he could visit me more often.' She then drifted out through the wall before the Headmaster could catch on to what she'd been careful to avoid: she'd been in the bathroom to watch people bathing...

Young Harry had told him much the same thing that morning, when he'd approached the teacher's table to receive the recipes he'd requested. Harry had asked him for a word in private, and, in whispers away from the table, told him about the apparent piece of Voldemort tucked away inside of him. Albus told him that he would look into it. Harry should concentrate on the second task for now.

'And I'm sure that's not the only adventure he had last might,' he said aloud to himself, remembering what Severus had told him.

'So much going on. I'm getting to old for this,' he said to Fawkes.

The phoenix trilled soothingly at him.

XXX xxx XXX

When Harry, Ginny, and Professor McGonagall entered the St. Mungo's reception area that Saturday morning, Ginny asked him how he was getting on in regards to the Tournament. When he'd told her just how close his encounter with the dementors had been, she'd asked if he could get out of competing due to medical reasons. Unfortunately, Medi-Alert tags were too recent to be recognised by the Goblet of Fire, he told her. It had chosen him, and sick or not, he had to compete. Since then, Ginny had been helping him too, researching creatures of the lakes and how he could defend himself underwater. It was more her speciality. She'd even asked Luna about it, who'd told her about all sort of odd-sounding underwater creepies.

'I'm doing okay, Ginny,' Harry said. 'We'll find something.'

Minerva frowned. She wished she could help him. She wished he wasn't competing at all. He'd been hurt during the first task, he could be hurt again. All she could do was allow him to to study freely. Perhaps she could pursued Severus to drop a hint during their "detentions"?

Up in Nathaniel's office, Harry wondered if he should tell the healer about the piece of soul thing. It definitely wasn't something he wanted to tell people about, but, Nathaniel had been really good to him, and proven he could keep secrets and take things calmly.

'Hey, Nathaniel,' he said, a bit uncertainly. 'I want to tell you about something that happened last night.'

Nathaniel listened quietly, nodding in places. When Harry got to the part where Myrtle told him about the other soul inside him, his eyebrows somehow rose in surprise and scrunched in concern simultaneously. When Harry finished, the healer stared at his notes for awhile, thinking.

'Harry,' he began. 'Thank you for trusting me with this.' He knew it was hard for him to share something so serious and strange. 'I will have to do some research if I am to understand this. Actually, I believe I will need some help. I mentioned once that I'd like to have a fidelimense look you over.'

Harry frowned.

'Anyone I bring into this will have to abide by the confidentiality oath too,' he added quickly. 'But I do need help with this. And your health is very important to me, Harry.'

'So it's serious then?' Damn. He really needed another health issue right now.

'It could be. I don't know enough.' Nathaniel tried not to look too worried without being too cheerful; Harry didn't like to be treated like a little kid. 'It doesn't sound as though it's done too much. It may be dormant.'

Harry nodded glumly.

Nathaniel went over to the cupboard. 'So, let's get to scanning you, shall we?' He took out the hula-hoop-of-detecting-Darkness while Harry put his wand, pills and Medi-Alert necklace on the desk.

Harry stood still as it whirled and spun around him, beeping steadily.

'Well?' He looked at Nathaniel expectantly.

The healer grinned at him. 'Good news, Harry. You're now free of dementor magic.'

'Yes, finally!' Harry cheered up. 'Can I take part in class now?'

'I think it'll be safe,' Nathaniel added to his notes and put the hoop down. 'But if anything happens, you're to tell me straight away, understood?'

Harry nodded, eagerly this time.

'We'll try in here first so I can observe you.'

Harry blinked. 'What, right now?' he asked, surprised. 'You're going to put a Dark spell on me right now, in a hospital?'

Nathaniel smiled. 'When you put it like that, it does sound odd.' He lent over his desk and wrote something on a piece of piece of paper the same green as his robes. He then folded it into a paper bird, tapped it with his wand and muttered, for Harry to hear,

'Sub receptor.'

It rose into the air and flew out the door.

'I'm required to have parental or a care-giver's consent when performing Dark magic on a minor,' he explained. 'That paper is on its way to Professor McGonagall.'

'Neat,' Harry said. 'We learnt that spell in Charms.' And since then, passing notes rose to a new level of fun. Epic games were played between desks.

The crane squad was nearing its target.

'Oh no!' Dean flicked his wand up, directing his paper war cranes away from Harry's scrunched parchment snakes. If they made contact, the runes scribbled on them - copied from Hermione's homework - would "poison" them. But the cranes had been flown into a trap! Ron's paper dolls (minions!) torn out from a notebook, ambushed them from the other side of Lavender's desk!

Too bad the teachers knew this and were able to catch the magical, message-bearing origami if you weren't careful.

'So, what happens if I'm clear?' Harry asked. 'Do I need to keep coming here every week? Will I have to keep my Medi-Alert?'

'I imagine one visit a month should be safe,' Nathaniel said. 'And you need to keep that tag at least until your space outs are under control – completely. And considering your involvement in the Twiwizard Tournament, it's a good thing to have handy.'

Harry shrugged.

He and Nathaniel talked about Merpeople and then magical creatures while they awaited Professor McGonagall's reply.

'It wasn't until my results came back that I realised I'd said "in the nude," instead of "in the night." Merlin, that was embarrassing. Ah, here's the reply.'

'Be careful.'

Harry looked at Nathaniel as if to say, well, get on with it.

The healer nodded and raised his wand.

'The spell I'm going to cast on you is one that makes you feel as though bugs are crawling all over you,' he explained. 'It's just an illusion.'

Harry knew this already. He also knew it was unpleasant, but not dangerous. It was about time for him to be on the business side of this particular spell.

'Ready? Bugs in cute illusio!'

Harry tensed up. His skin prickled as though hundreds of tiny feet were running across it, as though minuscule snakes were slithering all over him. Even under his clothes. It was a bit like the tickle hex really. Only far more unpleasant.

It only lasted a few seconds, then Nathaniel put Harry through the hoop again.

'You're still clear.'

Harry beamed.

'Great. That's really-' yawn, 'great. I was up late,' he said. 'I've been studying for the second task.'

Nathaniel sat down and motioned for Harry to do the same.

'Sleep is also important for your performance,' he chastised. 'Is there anything I can do to help?'

Harry rubbed his eyes under his glasses. 'Not much,' he said. 'I'm not supposed to get help from the adults.' Sirius, though, was his godfather and he didn't count under that rule.

Nathaniel frowned. 'I think that rule refers to teachers and Tournament judges.' He didn't like the way Harry was sounding here, even though he admired his desire for independence.

'Then, maybe some information about the lake? How to breathe underwater?'

'Oh that's easy. You just-'

Flash!

A memo-plane appeared quite suddenly in the office, interrupting Nathaniel.

'Sorry, Harry,' he muttered, unfolding it. 'This must be urgent.' His eyebrows rose as he read.

'I have to go collect a new patient from reception,' he said. 'Please excuse me. I'll be back soon. For now, do you have homework or something?'

Harry watched the healer dash away. Damn! he thought. Just when he about to learn what could let him breathe underwater! Oh well, he'd have to ask later.

He had no homework (thank god) at the moment, so he immersed himself in a National Geographic magazine again. An interesting article on penguins, and after that, Page 77 ¾: An Observation Of Naga, who were a species of half-human/half-snake people native to India. Did they speak the Parsletongue like Harry, or was there an Indian dialect?

Talking in the play area notified Harry of Nathaniel's return. Curious, he stepped out of the office to see who he'd bought in for treatment.

Nathaniel was leading a tall, pale guy in dark, muggle clothes to the other side of the ward where beds were set out in rows. The stranger set a young girl, probably his daughter, down on a bed as waited anxiously as the children's healer checked her over.

The girl looked about nine or ten years old and wore muggle clothes like her dad. Like him, she was also pale – more so in her state of injury. Her hair was light brown. Edging a little closer, Harry could see her injury wrapped in a towel: a broken leg with lots of blood. Owch. Harry winced. He remembered his own experiences with broken bones.

The girl was crying and sniffling but otherwise staying still.

'It's okay, you're being a really good patient,' Nathaniel told her soothingly. 'So you fell out of tee, huh? Must have been some tree.'

Sniff. 'A really tall one. I like climbing. Ow!'

'Sh, sh, it's okay Isabel.' Isabel's dad held her hand.

'Healer Pye, how is the patient?' Another healer in green robes entered the ward.

'Broken leg and... moderate blood loss.' Nathaniel turned back to his patient. 'What else happened to you?' he asked.

'A s-spider-' sniff 'bit me,' Isabel sniffled. 'That's why I fell.'

'Where did it bite you?'

'On my hand.' She showed Nathaniel her left hand. It was puffy.

'Ow,' he tutted. 'Keening, a vial please. Now what kind of spider was it, Isabel?'

While Isabel told him what the spider had looked like and how big it was Healer Keening handed Nathaniel a small vial.

'Okay Isabel, I need to put a little of the spider's venom in here,' he showed her the vial, 'and I need to cut your hand a little to do it It'll only hurt a wee bit.'

'It's fine,' Isabel wiped her eyes. 'Do it. I'm not a little kid.'

Nathaniel smiled at her and gently made a small incision near the bite. He caught the trickle of blood in the vial, healed the cut and told Keening to go to the substance analysis lab.

'Good girl Isabel, you're doing great. I'm going to fix your leg now, and then we'll wait for the antidote.'

Harry watched Nathaniel treat the girl and thought the situation was a little strange. Why did Healer Keening look nervous around Isabel and her dad? Especially when her blood loss was mentioned. When was Isabel going to be given a blood-replenishing potion?

He was surprised by the answer.

Nathaniel said something to Isabel and offered his wrist to her.

Harry's eyes widened in shock when Isabel, after looking to her surprised dad for approval, bit Nathaniel's wrist and drank from it.

Whoa! That girl was a vampire! No wonder she was so pale then.

Should he just slip back into the office? It might be awkward going out there.

Harry quietly returned to Nathaniel's office and picked up the Geographic again.

XXX xxx XXX

'Congratulations, Harry!' Ginny grinned. 'You'll be coming in the same time as me?'

Harry grinned back. 'Sure.'

XXX xxx XXX

'Wake up, Potter,' Snape hissed at Harry.

Harry scowled and shook his weariness off. Why did Snape have to be such an arse to him, huh? He was the one setting the extra hard homework that was keeping Harry up later in the first place! With the extra work on top of his study for the second task, Harry was rarely getting more than a few hours rest a night. At this rate he was going to end up asleep in class. (For once Hermione wasn't berating them for napping in History – she was doing it too.) Wait – of course he was setting the work harder, Snape knew he' been out of bed the other night and suspected him of raiding his store cupboard.

Jerk, Harry thought. Bully. Annoying, mean, bitter, grudge-bearing git!

'I know you were sneaking about,' Snape murmured, his voice low and dangerous. He sliced through basilisk scale carefully and firmly. 'I may not be able to prove it right now, but I know it was you that night.'

Harry sighed. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' he lied.

'I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about,' Snape's voice dripped with soft anger. 'I know you've stolen from my stores before, Potter. Boomslang skin, fluxweed. I don't care what your issues are, I won't tolerate your behaviour and if I catch you in there-'

'I haven't been near your office,' Harry interrupted. 'And I don't know who's been stealing from you.' That last bit was lie, Harry knew Hermione had once nicked things from Snape and he knew Mr Crouch had been up to something but otherwise Harry had nothing to with it.

There was a quiet rustling from Snape's direction. Harry glanced over and saw the man taking off his gloves. He placed them carefully on the crate and stalked over to Harry, slipping his hand into a pocket. For a moment, Harry wondered if Snape was going to curse him.

'Do you know what this is?' Snape showed him a small, crystal vial of clear liquid.

'No.' It looked like water to Harry.

'This is a complex little potion called veritaserum,' Snape explained. 'It's a very powerful truth serum, three drops of which would have you spilling your most precious secrets.' His dark eyes glittered dangerously.

Harry didn't like the sound of that.

'Now the Ministry restricts the use of this potion,' Snape had practically backed Harry right into a curved corner of giant snake, 'but if you don't keep your hands to yourself, you may find my hand slips,' his hand tipped the vial slightly, 'right over over your drink. And then we'll find out if you've been stealing.'

Harry really didn't like the sound of that. He could get loads of people in trouble with a loose tongue... What was truth serum used for anyway? Interrogation? Maybe it was used on suspects?

With the second task drawing closer, Harry didn't have time to worry about Snape or veritaserum or the mysteries going on. He was far too busy frantically searching for a way to breathe underwater every spare minute he had, and keeping up with his homework (although most teachers were being lenient on him – except for Binns (who didn't notice) and Snape (who did notice and was viciously heaping on the homework)).

Flutters of panic were starting to get him now, distracting him in class. Time was speeding up. Harry was feeling desperate and barely sleeping. The only good things that happened were Hagrid following Profesor Grubbly-Plank's unicorn idea by showing them cute baby unicorns (although his confidence in Harry made him reluctant to ask his big friend for help) and Sirius' next letter – the shortest one he'd ever sent, asking for the date of their next Hogsmead weekend. Harry wished he'd remembered to mention the second task his last letter – it was too late now.

Sunday teas were tense with anxiousness, although Harry noticed that Cedric and Fleur seemed the least worried. They probably had their plans all set.

During the last Transfiuration lesson they had before February the twenty-fourth, Professor McGonagall sent Harry, Ron and Hermione out of her classroom, telling them to go to their dorms and sleep rather than waste time trying to study in their condition. On their way out, she added that Harry should eat more or else she'd send him to the Hospital Wing. It was nerves killing his appetite again. Except for coffee. Strong, sweet, energy giving coffee was becoming Harry's friend fast.

XXX xxx XXX

On the last night before the task, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the library, pouring through books. At one point, Fred and George came to bring Ron and Hermione to McGonagall's office. Harry hoped the weren't going to be told off for helping him. He knew the champions were supposed to this on their own, but he really needed them.

Harry took as many books as he could carry back to Gryffindor Tower when the library closed, but wound up sneaking back later for more. Eventually, he fell asleep.

XXX xxx XXX

Hours later, Harry was sprinting frantically through halls, Dobby at his side. The house-elf had really saved him this time – gillyweed would make him breathe underwater, long enough, hopefully, for Harry to rescue Ron from the merpeople.

Shit. This was a wizarding contest? Sometimes Harry thought the muggles had far more common sense.

XXX xxx XXX

Ah, is anyone interested in reading my latest oneshot? Another HP fic, set during the second task. Bloody Water.