Hello again! Thank you all for your continued support, it's great to see how many people like this story and gives me lots of motivation to keep writing!

About this chapter -and last one as well a bit- I'd like to point out that other than in canon, i am having the Beauxbatons students stay with the Ravenclaws and Durmstrang students witht he Slytherins. Because honestly, I know that originally they stayed in the Carriage and Ship at night but... if you have a huge castle and expanding charms, it is kind of a dick move to have your guests sleep outside...

Enjoy!

Chapter nineteen - A terrible Discovery

As it turned out, it looked like Harry had one friend less. For some infuriating reason, Ron did not believe a word about Harry not having put his own name in, having blabbered something about that Harry should have told him of his 'method' to cross the age line. The only positive point that he saw was that the rest of Gryffindor wasn't as mad as he'd imagined them to be. They were only miffed that it had taken him so long to return, Fred, George and Lee Jordan having organised an elaborate party. Their support was absolutely great and made him even a bit able to enjoy the evening despite Ron's glaring absence. He convinced himself that, although none accepted his words about not having put his name in as true, it was a good sign and he should absolutely try to keep all the support he could get. He didn't want to push anyone away by acting anti-social now, to tackle these coming months he'd need information from wherever he could get it. The more people who wanted him to win, the better.

Like his best friend, the other houses also seemed to be completely against him, especially Hufflepuff as he had now 'stolen' the only chance for one of their own to shine. One pinprick of light was that Malfoy, who could have entirely used this debacle to seize his previous position again... didn't. Instead, the blond often lurked behind, looking almost as if he wanted to speak to Harry at times, yet decided against it each time. Harry was too pissed at everyone to go to Malfoy himself, instead spending lots of time with both Barty, Hermione and Hagrid, the latter two thankfully staying utterly loyal, believing him right away. It only annoyed him slightly that Hermione, while finding fault in Ron's behaviour, still also defended him, saying he was only jealous. So what if he was? That didn't make it suddenly right to drop his best friend like a brick.

Another complication was Dixie Étourneau, who tried to both be around Harry to show her support and also cheer on her own Champion, putting her in a difficult position with her peers. Harry tried to convince the girl to not mind him, that he could deal with this himself and she should just support Delacour, but she wouldn't hear of it. Barty had really overdone it with those compelling charms of friendship... To not anger her, he gave in and sought Dixie's company regularly. She wasn't too bad to talk to, although personality-wise, she got along much better with Hermione than with him, both being fascinated by any book they got their hands on and discussing girl-stuff together.

He considered writing Sirius, as Hermione also recommended him, yet wasn't certain if he should. His godfather was still not cleared and Harry wasn't certain where Sirius was staying at the moment. He really should have asked when last seeing the man. Harry knew that he'd been told to write letters, but what if Hedwig would be followed to a hiding spot or safe house? Thus, he decided against it and threw himself into preparing for his task, which was made incredibly difficult by the fact that he didn't know what it would contain apart from 'testing courage'. He had hoped that the next time all Champions had to meet, they'd receive at least a shred more information. That hope died when it turned out to only be an interview with a horrendous witch, a photo shoot and a checking of their wands. At least the entire thing confirmed Ron's statement of Delacour being part Veela - something which Harry still had to look up, it might give him an advance to know what kind of creature blood and thus possible weaknesses and strength she had. For all he knew, one of the tasks would involve duelling each other.

Two weeks passed, in which Harry did not only have to deal with his nerves at the task coming closer, but also with the horrid article brought out by Rita Skeeter. The woman had taken every single one of his words out of context and filled in his silences with her own imagination, painting Harry as an ignorant, tragic child. Each time he saw the Daily Prophet now, shame filled him to his bones, knowing that over half of Hogwarts either believed this tripe or hated him even more for drawing attention to himself and thus away from the other Champions. Diggory hadn't even been mentioned in the entire article about the Tournament, infuriating the Hufflepuffs.

In preparation, Harry was concentrating on general spells such as shields, stunners and other offensive attacks for now, which would probably be useful but might as well not be depending on what they would have to face. Barty taught him an especially useful shield that made him both hard to see and would stop most any light spell. Its only drawbacks were that he also would see the outside world pretty blurry, and the sacrifice that was required were pieces of his own body. That was fine at the start since he could just pick his hair, but the longer he held the shield, the more hair it would require, not exactly perfect for long-term use. It also limited how often he could practise it. In between regular classes and training, he tried to gather any info he could get his hands on. As of now, all of the rumours at Hogwarts had ended in nothing at all. Ron also hadn't spoken to him again and even insisted on switching partners at potions with Hermione, leaving Harry with Neville, costing them a great many house points. He had very much hoped that Ron would come around, and he might have, had Harry not spent so much time with not only Hermione, but also Ron's own sister and Dixie.

According to Hermione, those facts only fuelled Ron's anger and jealousy. The topic of Ron was now taboo between Harry and Hermione, since it hurt too much to even speak of their friend right now, even when Harry knew that the girl still hung out with the Ron too. Whenever Harry was forced to be in one room with him, there was either dead silence or snide remarks exchanged between them that Harry instantly regretted when he said them, and which cut deep into his soul when he was on the receiving end.

He sighed miserably and stared into the tea that Hagrid had just served him, the giant all ears to his woes. ''Wish I could help yeh, now it's pretty rubbish ter be a teacher.'' Harry nodded mutedly, knowing that if there was one thing that Hagrid respected, it was Dumbledore's standards. He would never outright be able to help Harry and tell him what he knew. Barty had been pretty tight-lipped too even though he'd said he would drop hints. Maybe Harry had just missed them again.

''I understand Hagrid, don't beat yourself up about it, I'll manage somehow. Have been training a lot, reading up on new spells for combat and such.''

Hagrid shuffled his feet. ''That's a good idea. Errr... have you looked inter special combat? Agains' the likes of creatures an' such?''

''Creatures?'' Harry perked up. Hagrid reddened and turned around, mumbling a bit.

''Shouldn'ta said that,'' he mumbled unconvincingly. ''Anyways, good luck! You'll need it,'' he hurriedly added. Taking that as his cue to leave, Harry went. Creatures... that was certainly more to work with than he had had before... He eyed the pen with blast-ended Skrewts specifically. No, surely they wouldn't have to face a most-likely illegally-bred species in a public setting. Acromantulas then? Possibly, there sure were enough of them out here. If so, Harry did know quite a few spells that worked against them now. What else could they use...? Would it be limited to those found in the forbidden forest or would the Ministry bring other, less well-known and dangerous creatures in? Which kinds were even all found in the forest? So many questions... then again, it did give him more specific ideas, knowing he'd be fighting a -definitely magical- animal. It also had to be something on land instead of water as everyone was supposedly watching the spectacle. Additionally, it had to be big enough to see the fight clearly then... Even without being sure of what he would face, he could search for spells that would protect specifically against scratches, stings and bites, that would be a good start. Maybe something to attack weak spots like the belly? Even Acromantula armour was weakened there. Or should he go for the throat like he'd done with the Basilisk?

Harry grinned grimly, wondering how many of the other champions had already faced trolls, giant spiders, a Basilisk, Dementors and a Werewolf. He sure did have experience with creatures, and his education of last year with Lupin had thankfully dealt with many others too. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. The main problem was that any creature had also specific magic: With a Banshee he'd have to protect his ears, while with a cockatrice he'd have to look out for venom. He couldn't possibly cover everything 'just in case' without magically exhausting himself.

He told Barty of his findings, who nodded enthusiastically and instantly started with teaching him a spell that Harry had chosen from one of the books he'd been sent. It hardened one's skin to make physical attacks easier to block. Harry considered it a good sign since Barty didn't reject the idea or seem reluctant about it. He also found that the book on rune clusters had an entire chapter on influencing animals. He wasn't certain if he should even attempt using it since his rune skills were rudimentary at best, but figured it wouldn't hurt to read through.

He fell asleep with the book still in his hands, oblivious to everything as soon as his head touched his pillow, another world blooming in front of his eyes.

A fire crackled and Harry turned towards it, not at all surprised when finding Voldemort standing nearby, only the surroundings being rather off. The room was unlike any Harry had seen before, the walls painted with moving waves and all kind of seashells and pieces of white jagged rock-like things standing around that Harry couldn't place. ~Where are we this time?~ he asked.

~Good evening to you too,~ the other replied, raising a single eyebrow at Harry's lack of decorum. ~We're not anywhere in particular. As in, this place only exists in my mind.~ The teen looked around, fascinated by the colourful and twisting shapes of all the objects on display in glass cabinets.

~You like the sea?~ he asked, finding out more and more interesting pieces of information about Voldemort's tastes with each dream. It was a pity that he could recall so little past that first dream they had actively shared. Only now he was here again, did all their shared conversations flood back. It felt as if his waking life was merely a dream instead here.

~I find it to be both soothing and dangerous, the ocean is a complex ecosystem that humans can barely grasp the concept of despite it being the largest one in this world. Beneath the waves rests a magic of another level too, you wouldn't believe what creatures hide in the womb of the sea.~

~I wouldn't know, I've never even been at a beach, ~ Harry commented. ~I only know that the water is salty but I don't know why.~

He hadn't exactly expected an answer, but Voldemort still replied: ~The salt in the oceans stems from erosion of bedrock on continents and minerals getting trapped there, the salt levels of the water increasing over time. You'd imagine what millions of years would do. The only reason that not all water on earth is salty is due to rainwater replenishing rivers and lakes, although some lakes in dry areas turned salty as well.~

~Do you know everything?~

~While I naturally prefer to focus on all that is magic, I pride myself in learning the ways of this world as well, although this in particular is quite common knowledge.~ Harry tried to not let that comment hurt him. It wasn't his fault if his education had been bad and he hadn't been allowed to read books at the Dursley's home.

~Is there anything specific that you want?~ Harry asked.

~Always getting to the point so quickly,~ Voldemort... scowled? ~Is it not enough to relish for a while in the magic that brought us to this state? You are so very impatient, Evan.~

~Other than you, I have limited time,~ Harry replied, sitting down and looking at the foam of the painted waves as they crashed on sharp black rocks. ~Everything at school is measured by time limits. Tests, homework, even this Tournament. My next task is up soon and the only clue I have found is 'creatures'. I suppose you will also not tell me anything else?~ he looked up at the Dark Lord, who wore a pensive expression, taking his words into consideration.

~Not directly, but you would do well to remember your position. As much as you loathe your own status in this world, it can give you many advantages. Shunning away from your fame is only going to make life more difficult for yourself, whereas if you use it, you might find more help awaiting than you could imagine. Part of aiding me will be to use any methods that do not go against your own code of ethics at the moment. You are angry about Dumbledore using you, are you not? Then step up out of his shadows and control your social environment yourself.~

~And that will help me with the task too?~ Harry doubted. ~Contacts cannot be formed within a week.~

~You'll be surprised to find what weight your voice can carry if you speak out. Now, come here, I have been working on a spell.~ Curious, Harry came closer to the other, who opened a rather large jar of water and multi-coloured sand. With slight hesitation, he put his hand in Voldemort's offered one, the sensation feeling off as he could not feel the man's magic in their dreams, nor was the hand cold to the touch. Harry guessed that the man didn't perceive his own skin temperature as others did. This was Voldemort's dream, after all. Harry's hand rested like a dead weight in thin, fragile-looking fingers that curled around his in a reflex that reminded Harry of a constrictor keeping its prey in place. He was so distracted by the movement that he jerked in shock as part of the contents of the jar were placed in his palm, the water a floating blob in his hand in which sand swirled.

~What am I supposed to do with this?~ he asked, bewildered.

~Take it with you. Ræið opna.~ Forcefully, Harry was cast from the room, feeling as if he was speeding backwards through a very unpleasant tunnel until he was cast out onto his own bed.

Gasping, he awoke, completely dizzy and disorientated. Salt stung his nose and eyes when he instinctively rubbed his face to get awake. ''What the hell!'' he cursed, taking his bed sheet to wipe the sudden wetness off his face to be able to stare at his hand. It didn't help much without his glasses, but he could certainly see that he was holding something. Something very wet and gritty. He gasped in astonishment as he recognised it or what it was, more by texture than by sight. Had Voldemort really transported something through his dream to Harry? What kind of magic could manifest items from pure thought?

That was a stupid question, he realised. Part of transfiguration was exactly that, transforming thought into magic, and that into form even if nothing else had been there before. Still, for someone else to conjure objects in one's mind and then send it like this? That was on another level altogether. He only wondered if Voldemort couldn't have chosen anything... handier than sea water and sand. His bed was ruined now. Curiously, he sniffed at the water, finding the briny smell interesting. It had a different odour than the saline solutions they had sometimes used in potions, as if there was more to sea water than that. Maybe there was, there were all kinds of living things in the sea. He recalled the zoo he'd visited and the small aquarium they'd had that was filled with brightly shimmering fish and aquatic plants. Voldemort's words of beasts lurking in the ocean came to mind.

He closed his eyes and tried to hold onto as much of the conversation as he could, knowing it would slip away otherwise. The smell certainly helped to recall the room with its waves, although details were already starting to fade. Had the other sat or stood? What had the floor and furniture been made of? He didn't know anymore, only an image of seashells lined up against walls with moving waves remaining. Not too important either, and yet the loss of that tranquil feeling he'd had there was disappointing. Instead, he concentrated on remembering the words of the Dark Lord. Something about stepping up, making contacts to find out about the task. A week time being enough...

Harry certainly had work to do.

It was because of this that he later called an emergency meeting in the library. He'd opted for a place where they could talk better, but Hermione wasn't willing to leave any of her books behind and she was already one book over the limit that any other Hogwarts student was allowed to borrow. She also made the argument that they would save time by being able to look up anything they needed instantly, which no-one could go against. Harry wondered just how long they'd be able to stay here however. For some reason, Viktor Krum made regular trips to the Hogwarts library, always followed by a group of giggling girls who made a ruckus. It annoyed Hermione to no end, who ended up leaving more often than not just to escape the noise.

''Creatures...'' the girl sighed when Harry told his friends what Hagrid had said. ''That does not narrow it down much, although I think you should concentrate on those ranked three or four X's. Anything below that isn't entertaining enough to watch for a large crowd and anything over would be far too dangerous to let students handle.'' Concern was written all over her face and reflected by Neville, Ginny and Dixie. Harry sorely missed Ron's presence and pretended not to notice. ''You've only got one and a half week left, any specific spells you might want to still learn would take days of intense practise at the very least! That would mean you'd have... oh, less than a week to decide what to do!''

''I know,'' Harry groaned. ''While I'm practising all kinds of magic for offense and defence, I'm still going in blind without any further clues.''

Dixie hesitated, then spoke: ''I do not know if zis is helpful to you...'' she trailed off, then started anew. ''Fleur already knows ze task, I am sure of it.''

''Then you could ask her, right?'' Ginny commented, slightly more pushy than she usually was.

''I will not betray my school!'' Dixie huffed. ''Besides, it is doubtful that she would tell me anyzing. I did not make a secret out of supporting Harry too.''

Harry nodded. ''Not expecting you to spy for me, no worries. Hagrid also said all that he could and there is no other teacher whom I think would tell me anything about the upcoming event. Percy is also definitely out, and so are the other Champions even if they do know what is coming. I'm not well-versed enough in mind-magic to extract anything from their minds.''

''Which would also be illegal!'' Hermione reminded him.

''As much as brewing Polyjuice at twelve years old in a bathroom with stolen ingredients,'' he shot back with a grin.

''What about Bagman?'' Neville asked. ''I've heard from Fred and George that he likes to gamble. He might have bet on you.''

'''Even if, I hardly know the man, what if I can't trust him? I've thought of searching for ideas outside of Hogwarts instead. Everyone is on their tiptoes here, careful not to reveal what they know. I might have more luck if I go directly to the source: the ministry.'' All of them gawked at him. ''Look, more than half of the school is accusing me of seeking attention, of only being able to get away with 'putting my name in the cup' or whatever because I'm famous, right? Well, I figured that I might as well use that fame for something positive then. My name carries enough influence that I could contact the Department for the Regulation and control of Magical Creatures and find out who is in charge of the Tournament. Even if they use Acromantulas or any other creatures that live near Hogwarts, they'll need someone to supervise, right?''

''But that's against the rules!'' Hermione hissed.

''The only rules I was told was that I cannot get help from teachers or the jury. The members of the jury are all from the schools, the Department of Magical Sports and Recreation and the Department of International Cooperation. If I decide to ask anyone outside of those authorities, that is entirely legal and within the rules. My main problem is that I don't know how fast response would be. The Ministry is all the way in London... A few owls back and forth would be too much loss of time.''

''What about floo?'' Dixie suggested. ''There are many fireplaces in this castle, right?'' Harry instantly looked to Hermione for confirmation, who looked doubtful.

''Hogwarts is not fully connected to the floo network,'' she spoke slowly. ''Security risk, you see. We cannot have people with ill intent just flooing into the common rooms, or students going back and forth to sneak into teacher's offices. There is a slight loophole that still allows contact by transferring only a vision of the person's face through the fire. Whether that will help in the Ministry, I do not know. I've never been there and don't know how the fireplaces are set up there.''

Neville shook his head. ''They've only got floo for employees at the entrance of the Atrium, no-one would see you there that would be useful speaking to... There are a few special fireplaces for certain departments that need quicker contact, but all of those have extra layers of security such as only certain people being keyed in, or the floo network only being connected at certain times. I'm afraid that won't work as a quick method of contacting. I do have a different solution though...'' It was so rare for Neville to speak for so long that everyone apart from Dixie looked at him with astonishment. Neville blushed and started to stutter a bit.

''My.. My gran used to work at the Ministry, you know. Before she found that it was all rubbish and she retired. Been moved around different department a lot... I am sure she also worked in Control of Magical Creatures for a couple of years, and she loves to keep in contact with old colleagues of hers. Even if she's not aware of what the exact task is, I can imagine that she'd know whom to contact.''

''Neville, that's brilliant!'' Ginny exclaimed, her face lighting up as if her life had been saved by this. ''One of the benefits of living in such a small society, I suppose. Everyone always knows someone useful... You know what, I'll contact mum and dad too, they might also have some info. It is true that you're not forbidden from asking anyone else from those people mentioned. With how much mum sometimes gossips I bet she's already fully aware of whatever creature they pick.''

''I cannot be of much help here,'' Dixie stated ruefully. ''My own family has no connections to ze Eenglish Ministry. I'll try to look for ozer info still but cannot promise you zat I will find what you are looking for.''

''That's fine,'' Harry told her. ''You know far more magic than all four of us combined, being in your last year and all. You can fully make up for it by teaching me if you want.'' He couldn't be seen too often with Moody after all since the man wasn't actually allowed to help him with anything. She nodded, her curls bouncing. ''I shall go now zen!'' she spoke, getting up and rushing out of the library. Harry caught Ginny's annoyed stare.

''I don't know why you like being around her Harry!'' the girl complained. ''She's so... overenthusiastic and bubbly and...'' she pulled a face that made Harry laugh.

''Not everyone likes to get cats chasing after stink-bombs,'' he snickered. ''Give her a chance. She may be a bit, err... overwhelming, she means well. Plus, it really is great to have someone of the same age as the other Champions to help, right? She might also know spells that we don't get taught at Hogwarts!''

''She does, quite a few,'' Hermione spoke. ''We've already had long discussions about the way potions work differently in France, for example. They work far more with spells to bind ingredients together and manipulate them, making potions a far more versatile course and less labour-intensive than we have here. They also combine that course with Alchemy, which we don't have at all. Nicholas Flamel used to attend Beauxbatons, did you know that?''

Harry hadn't known that and was also too preoccupied with other things to care much. He'd rather not be reminded of the whole incident with the philosopher's stone now that he knew it had set back Voldemort's resurrection by two years. In the next days, he waited with anticipation for letters from either Neville's Gran or the Weasleys, while also sneaking around the Hogwarts grounds under his invisibility cloak to observe Krum and Delacour. While he'd tried with Diggory too, it quickly became clear that the other boy was even more clueless than Harry was, only training general spells and pacing around nervously. The other two were noticeably more focused, interestingly enough both concentrating on protection rather than offense.

Delacour was mostly practising either on a charm that froze the surroundings or on a chant of which its main purpose was to make anything in its vicinity fall asleep. The latter could be really handy for any creature, but with how much difficulty Delacour had with it, and the fact that it was in French, Harry decided he'd rather choose a different method. The freezing spell was something he could master, and also slightly ruled out several creatures against which that would be effective, such as trolls, centaurs or other large beasts that focused heavily on physical attacks. Those would only be bothered by ice if it completely encased them, which didn't happen with Delacour's spell.

Krum had another method altogether, using transfiguration to create large shields that would block heavy impact attacks and shooting sharp, precise spells through the artificially created holes near the edge of those shields. It made sense, Harry found, for like this Krum would not need to get out of his cover to attack whatever it was they would have to fight. He couldn't copy the Bulgarian without being too obvious, but this tactic of creating a way to fight without fully breaking one's defence was something Harry wouldn't have come up with and thought dead useful. He was able to follow Krum more often than the Beauxbatons Champion, who spent most of her time in either the Ravenclaw dorms or the Carriage she and her peers had arrived in. Krum was nearly always somewhere in Hogwarts, most often in the library or wandering outside on the grounds. Harry wondered if he chose those places to try and get away from his fans or if he had another reason.

From his observations of the two other Champions, he deducted that what they would be fighting was large and did not only rely on force, otherwise Fleur's freezing spell and chanting wouldn't have any effect. That still left enough options to be worrisome, yet did give him an edge to work with already. He somehow doubted that many 3X creatures would be interesting enough to fight against, with perhaps exceptions being Hippogriffs, fire crabs and redcaps. Having covered all of those in third year already in either Care of magical creatures or Defence Against the Dark Arts, it was nevertheless unlikely that those would be picked for an exciting Tournament in which only adults were allowed to participate. He did not share Hermione's optimism about 5X creatures automatically being out either. Knowing that what he was about to do was incredibly stupid, but not as stupid as taking part in the Triwizard Tournament was, he drew his invisibility cloak closer and went further than he was allowed to go on the Hogwarts grounds.

The trees of the Forbidden Forest looked as foreboding and unwelcome as ever. He was no stranger to the forest though, and headed in without hesitation. He couldn't practise on dummies only, or on people he didn't want to hurt. Additionally, he wished to test the limits of Voldemort's protection without anyone able to watch him. It would protect him from harmful intent of humans... did that extent to animals who struck with the purpose of hurting him? Harry steered clear of the places where he'd met centaurs before, not necessarily wanting to cause any trouble with beings who could tell Dumbledore of what he'd been doing here. Instead, he headed down a trail he had never thought of willingly returning to, one that led straight to the valley of spiders. He wouldn't have made it out alive last time, so he took precautions in form of the protective spells that he had practised with exception of the haze shield, not wanting to become bald overnight. It was a lot harder to find spiders this time than it had been in his second year for some reason, almost as if they were hiding much deeper this time. He didn't plan on going to the centre of the nest, not in for a chat with Aragog. Harry hoped that Hagrid would forgive him for killing some of the talking spider's precious babies.

It was a good thing that he was cautious: his invisibility cloak didn't do much to hide him from the spiders, who had bad eyesight in the first place and located him the instant he ran into a few sticky strands of cobweb. Harry whipped out his wand, noting to himself that during the task he should really have it out already, and sent spells out as rapidly as he could. His repertoire had definitely increased since the last time he'd faced off against the giant spiders, for now he was not limited to only severing charms, knockback jinxes or small fireballs anymore, also able to cast Stinging hexes, Incarcerous and the Reducto curse. While not being much better, it made his attacks less predictable. He singed one of the spiders with Incendio, then instantly moved on to another, trying to cut off legs, hitting the belly while staying away from dangerously sharp jaws. He was doing quite well until a moving shadow suddenly warned him of danger. He tried his best to duck away as a full-grown Acromantula landed on the spot he'd stood just moments ago. Harry didn't fully succeed, his knee being crushed by the weight of a leg which was comparable in size to one of a horse. He cried out in anguish as he felt the bone splinter, red hot pain searing through his body. He looked death in the eyes in the form of a gaping maw and he knew he would be too late with blasting a curse through the spider's skull-

A bright light flashed and the animal was violently thrown away from him, shrieking as Harry watched it being ripped apart in mid-air. He gasped and sat up, the other spiders all scurrying away from him, maybe afraid now that the largest of them was dead. Harry scrambled up, trying not to put any weight on his useless right leg. Thousands of eyes were upon him as he tried to make a splint out of two branches and a couple of sturdy blades of grass and vines. All the while, the exhausted teen kept his guard up, not trusting the spiders to not fling themselves upon him again. So that was how Voldemort's protection worked then... his leg had been broken since the spider hadn't specifically meant to harm him with the jump itself. Since that last attack had definitely been filled with harmful intent, his protection had reacted... in a way that Harry didn't think was very acceptable if it meant that anyone who tried to hurt him literally got ripped to shreds. He'd need to talk to Voldemort about that...

He jerked out of his thoughts as the spiders around him reacted again and he saw the vague shape of something gigantic on a tree nearby. Clenching his teeth together, he started to run as well as he could as another fully-grown Acromantula sped down from the tree. Even if he was an automatic killing machine, accidental 'attacks' could still hurt and perhaps even kill him. Due to the spiders that had now regained their bloodlust and were on his heels, Harry was forced to run into a different direction, although if he wasn't too far off with his orientation, it should still lead him out of the forest, just in a wide berth hat led to a different side of the castle. Harry desperately wished he'd paid more attention to healing charms now, because he couldn't even think of the incantation, let alone successfully heal his knee.

He shot a few severing charms and a Reducto over his shoulder, hoping it would cause enough chaos to slow down the creatures. It didn't help much, the only reason that the Acromantulas hadn't caught up to him was because they were - rightfully so- cautious around him now. One unfortunate spider decided to go for it and jumped straight up in the teen's face, blasted away only as it came far too close to Harry's liking, the image of venomous fangs burned into his retina. Interestingly enough, this small one didn't meet the same fate as the first spider, only screeching in pain and rolling over the ground, jerking its legs as if under the Cruciatus curse. Harry didn't stop to watch, making his way through the black thicket, which became harder each minute as the sun sank beneath the mountains.

All of a sudden, the spiders halted, and Harry looked around, confused. It was as if there was an invisible line that they wouldn't cross. A trap? He took a few tentative steps further, nothing happening to him, only more distance being put in between him and the hairy murder machines. A low hissing went through the flock of spiders before they quickly turned and, within seconds, were all gone. Confused, Harry walked further, still not anywhere near the edge of the forest. What had made them turn around?

Thunder ripped through the evening sky. It was only peculiar that in this case, the lightning came after instead of the other way around. Something moved beyond the thicket... something massive. Harry's eyes widened and his only good knee weakened as he came closer and took in the sight that he had, in the darkness, mistaken for a row of thin tree trunks in the distance. Beyond the ancient trees stood a fence now, and behind that... He swallowed thickly as flames lit up the fence once more, a gigantic, scaled head rammed against thick oak planks. ''No,'' he croaked, taking in the dragon. It was easily over fifty feet and spit fire about half that length. Razor-sharp claws as long as Harry's full arm curled around the wood, pulling in a way that Harry was sure they'd splinter and break. A second jet of fire could be seen behind the gigantic black beast, mushroom-shaped puffs that came out of a brilliant ruby snout. Holding himself up by grabbing hold of an overhanging branch, Harry watched as the spectacle unfurled, four equally terrifying dragons of different colours spitting out their displeasure, coiling over the ground and trying to spread their chained wings.

He didn't recall how he made it to the castle afterwards, nor how his head was able to fall into such a dazed state that he hardly noticed his splintered knee anymore. He only knew that whatever he had expected of the first Task, this definitely had not been on his list.

Sooo, Harry is getting serious! And now you guys also know a bit more about Voldemort's protection :P
The spell Ræið opna means something along the lines of 'open travel' or 'a door for travel'.
Please Read and Review!
xx GeMerope