I do not own anything from the harry potter universe, unfortunately.
"Normal Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
If Harry wasn't so good at tracking a snitch while flying on a broom at breakneck speeds he was sure that he would've lost a certain excitable elf during its little apparating celebration. You see after the conversation with Susan's Aunt, Amelia, she had expressed a necessity for Harry to have a more secure form of communication that was not an owl. Amelia had offered the use of one of her Family elves but Harry had a better Idea. He then proceeded to call his old friend Dobby and when he asked the elf if he would like to work for him the elf couldn't contain himself.
Which lead to the current situation wherein Harry's usual training classroom Dobby would pop in and out of existence with a cry of joy each time he showed up.
"Dobby serves the Great and Powerful Master Harry Potter! Oh, Joyus day!" The elf cheered doing a weird little tap dance while apparating. Harry laughed though Hedwig and Demona appeared to be getting dizzy as their heads whipped around to follow the elf's movements.
"Dobby!" Harry called and the Elf popped in front of him.
"Oh yes, Oh Great and amazing Master Harry Potter?" Dobby asked eyes wide and face split with a gleaming smile.
"Just Harry is alright Dobby." Harry said but Dobby shook his head his ears flapping away as he did.
"Oh no, The Great and amazing Master Harry Potter must be shown all the respect his greatness deserves!" Harry chuckled at the Elf's enthusiasm.
"But it's so long what if you need to call to me to warn me of danger and you can't get my name out fast enough?" Harry pointed out as Dobby looked concerned by this and thought about it. He then began trying to say his full title as fast as he could but not fast enough. He looked defeated before nodding.
"Then... will be calling you Master Potter?"
"How about Master Harry, if you must."
"Oh, I must, most assuredly."
"Alright, now you understand what you have to do?" Harry asked and Dobby nodded.
"Oh yes, help Master Harry beast the mean old whiskered one by delivering secret letters! Don't worry Master Harry! Dobby be used to delivering such thingies. Nice Lady Malfoy would ask Dobby to deliver letters all the time!" This got Harry's attention.
"Lady Malfoy? Malfoy's Mum?" Harry asked and Dobby nodded.
"Nice Lady Malfoy was always very sad, but the Letters made her smile! They came from her sister!"
"Her sister?"
"Andromeda Tonks Master Harry! They were separated but she kept contact in secret! So Dobby be good at keeping secrets!" Dobby said and Harry couldn't help but noticed he just blurted out a secret right now but it was from his former family and, except for Lady Malfoy as it turned out, they were all rotten to the core.
"Good, Dobby you know my Godfather Sirius right?" Harry asked and Dobby nodded. "Well, It's very important that you get this to him and do not be seen. It is for his eyes only, no matter what. If someone tries to take it then you destroy it and return to me when you can and don't be caught. Do you understand?"
"I understand I will be delivering this to Master Harry's Good Godfather! I promise!" Dobby cheered while popping out of sight to complete his task. Amelia assured him that if Sirius had not left the country then it was possible for the Elf to find him though it may take a week or two. Harry had faith in Dobby, after all, if Sirius could send an Owl then he couldn't be too terribly far.
Harry didn't waste any time as he called Demona to his shadow and Hedwig to his arm. As he exited the classroom Hedwig took off as he made his way to the Great Hall where the students would be gathered for Breakfast. Upon entering he saw that everyone was abuzz with gossip as that afternoon the second task would take place. Not that it would help since it was still freezing outside. And would probably be even colder in the lake.
Quickly scanning the Hall Harry saw his fellow champions each with looks of worry on their faces. No doubt it's because the person closest to each was taken. He wondered who was taken for Fleur as she seemed particularly upset and fidgety. Hopefully, he would get a chance to ask before the task began. Making his way over to the Slytherin table he saw his friends and his girlfriends sitting waiting for him. However just as they thought Daphne was nowhere to be seen. He got up early to get Dobby but he already knew Daphne would not be here.
Even so every fiber of his being wanted to charge up to Dumbledore and demand her return. Thankfully he had more self-control than that and proceeded to his place with his friends. As soon as he sat down both Susan and Hermione took his hands into theirs and comforted him.
"It'll be alright Harry, You'll find her and bring her back. Just be prepared for what comes after cause she's going to milk this for all that it's worth." Susan joked which managed to get Harry to crack a small smile.
"She's right Harry, Miss Amelia's people were there the whole time right? So she will be safe and Dumbledore wouldn't have had a chance to invade her mind." Hermione assured whispering to him so none of the others would hear.
"Harry, Daphne's not with you? When she didn't come with us to breakfast I thought she might be with you..." Blaise asked and Harry shook his head.
"No, but I have a guess as to where she could be." Harry said not even trying to hide his distaste at the situation as he looked over to where the officials were seated near the faculty table. The others followed his gaze and came to similar conclusions.
"You think she was taken by them? For what, the task?" Tracey asked and Harry nodded.
"I'm pretty damn certain."
"Why would they do that?"
"Let's not forget that this whole tournament is basically a Bloodsport. Like Gladiators in ancient Rome." Jones said and Hermione shook her head.
"I wish I could say that they wouldn't do such a thing but that's just me deluding myself. After all, they put students against full-grown dragons. Even if three of them were of age." Hermione said and the others nodded.
"So you know what the task is right?" Blaise asked and Harry nodded.
"Yes I know, sorry I didn't tell you we had some other things to take care of." Harry apologized but Blaise waved him off.
"Doesn't matter, it's fine. So what do they have planned?"
"The Black Lake, that's where they've taken Daphne and the other hostages as well for the other champions. We have an hour to search for them."
"Do you know where they are being kept? Any clue?" Tracey asked and Harry shook his head.
"No, but I can find Daphne."
"How's that?" Jones asked.
"We found a spell while researching about the lake. It serves as a sort of detections charm. I cast it on Daphne, Susan, and Hermione each. It won't give me her exact location but it will direct me to her location." Harry explained.
"What about getting through the water? Bubblehead charm?" Blaise asked and Harry nodded.
"So far that's the best option." Harry admitted as Tracey looked thoughtful for a moment.
"What about Gillyweed?" She asked.
"What's Gillyweed?"
"It's an aquatic plant, it mutates the person who consumes it making them aquatic in nature, such as gills for example, hence the name." A voice spoke up next to Jones. Everyone looked over to see Pansy Parkinson sitting next to Jones and glancing at them.
"Listening in on our conversation for Malfoy?" Tracey accused and Pansy flinched.
"No... Draco... he doesn't talk to me anymore."
"Then why are you here?" Blaise asked and she shrugged.
"Just eating. I'll move." She said going to stand before Jones grabbed her by the arm and made her sit.
"Nope. Stay."
"But..."
"But nothing, sit and stay."
"I'm not a dog."
"So I can see, Gillyweed. What do you know?" Jones asked and Pansy looked at the group showing a bit of nervousness but quickly schooling her features.
"Not much more than that, I know that Professor Snape has a store of some. You would have to take that up with him though." She said and Harry turned back to Tracey.
"Where did you learn about it?"
"Oh, Neville and I talk about lots of things, He's way ahead of everyone else in Herbology. You know what let me go grab him, about time my boyfriend got to sit at our table." Tracey said getting up and making her way to the Gryffindor table.
"They're dating already?" Harry asked and Blaise rolled his eyes.
"Do you really get to ask that?" he joked and Harry, Susan, and Hermione blushed. Tracey returned with a blushing Neville as Harry looked over to Gryffindor's table to see more than a few annoyed looks directed at them. Most of the Slytherins were keeping to themselves besides the usual suspects. But they knew better than to mess with the group while they were all together. Especially since Prefect Megan Jones was part of their group.
"Hey Neville, how have you been?" Harry asked and Neville smiled shyly.
"Hi, Harry... Um, listen I-I'm sorry. I didn't..." Harry waved off his apology.
"Neville don't apologize, If memory serves you didn't do anything to me or my belongings." Harry said and Neville let out a breath of relief.
"See I told you." Tracey said bumping Neville with her hip as she sat down Neville following her example.
"S-so you want to know about Gillyweed?" Neville asked and Harry nodded.
"Well, It's aquatic and mutates the person who consumes it."
"I already told them that." Pansy interrupted and Tracey shot her a look.
"Oh, then there's not much else to it, it's a fantastic plant that will transform you for about an hour. Some herbologists have some conflicting results depending on salt or freshwater."
"And your sure Snape has a supply?" Harry asked Pansy who nodded.
"He is a potions master Potter." She replied matter of factly.
"Then that sounds much better than relying on the bubblehead charm."
"Can he talk underwater?" Hermione asked and Neville nodded.
"Everyone who has used Gillyweed has said that speech is possible just not above water."
"Then this sounds much better." Susan said and it wasn't long before breakfast came to a close and students began to bustle around the castle with anticipation for the coming task this afternoon.
"I'll talk to Snape, I'll see you girls later." He said as Hermione and Susan nodded while placing a kiss on his cheeks.
"Are you nervous?" Susan asked as she and Hermione walked with the group having nothing else to do today.
"Incredibly, having Harry in constant danger is already stressful enough and now Daphne has been dragged into this madness."
"They will be fine, but we both know that Harry and Daphne are tougher than most."
"We're pretty tough too." Hermione smiled as Susan nodded.
"Yup." The two girls shared a laugh as they made their way toward the Lake. However, on the way, they were intercepted by a certain woman which made Susan stand up just a bit straighter.
"Aunty!" She greeted with a smile which Amelia returned.
"Susan, could I have a word with you?" Susan felt her blood run cold, she had been greeted by her Aunt when she arrived but she had been preoccupied with Harry and her own investigation to speak at length with Susan. And Susan felt she knew what this conversation was going to be about.
"Of course, Aunty, Go on I'll meet you at the lake." Susan said and the group nodded and continued with Hermione spending a moment more before Susan urged her to go.
"Come on." Amelia said as they entered an unoccupied classroom. Susan entered and took a seat at one of the desks.
"Now, do you mind explaining to me why I have to learn about my nieces, polyamorous relationship through the Prophet and not a personally written letter?" She asked as she stood in front of her niece who at the moment felt just like a little girl again caught breaking the rules.
"Well... I was planning to tell you?"
"Really, would this be before or after you got pregnant?" Amelia asked and Susan's face went completely red.
"What!? No! No Aunty! We haven't... we wouldn't!" Susan denied it embarrassedly.
"You haven't even thought about it?"
"NO!... well yes but we not going to!"
"You say that, but if you're not even going to tell me your dating someone, let alone three people how am I going to know?"
"That's a really big jump in logic!" Susan argued.
"Susie, my point is that you should've told me especially with the circumstances being so... unique. And I know that this was your idea."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you're a Hufflepuff."
"Why does everyone keep saying that? And so were you!" Susan exclaimed throwing her hands in the air.
"Look, Susie, I'm not here to tell you who to date or not but you have to understand that this is strange, even in our world. I wish you would've told me as soon as you made this decision. Ever since your relationship with Harry, Hermione, and Daphne came out in the paper I have been getting bombarded with Owl mail, the Greengrass's have also been met with the same. We're not angry, we just would've liked a proper notice from our children and not Rita Bloody Skeeter." Amelia said and Susan nodded understanding that it definitely wasn't the preferred method to receive such news.
"I'm sorry Aunty, I didn't mean to keep it a secret. I just never got around to it." Susan said. Amelia nodded.
"Thank you for apologizing, just promise me if you plan on any other big life decisions you'll give me a heads up. At least while you are still living under my roof."
"I will."
"Thank you." The pair rose as they exited the classroom and Amelia gained a bit of a mischievous smirk. "So... how do you like snogging?"
"Aunty!"
The pair continued to the Lake and meanwhile, Harry had found caught Snape in the corridors. Currently, they were heading down to his ingredients storage room.
"Gillyweed?" Snape asked as they walked.
"Yes, Professor. Its qualities will make the upcoming task easier."
"Ingenious... I know what the plant is capable of and I doubt you came up with this idea on your own who was it that informed you of the nature of this plant?" He asked and usually, Harry would've been a bit miffed at Snape's comment but he was figuring that it was just how Snape talked. At least he hoped so.
"Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis, and Neville sir."
"I see." He replied as the duo made a few final turns before finding their way to the potions classroom and snape went to his storage.
"Potter, I will not be held reliable for any ill effects that may occur is that understood?" Snape said plainly as he emerged. Harry nodded and accepted the plant which was currently housed in a glass vial.
"Of course Professor."
"I want that vial back." Snape said leaving Harry to find his own way to the Lake, not that he would get lost. Bringing the vial up he saw that the Gillyweed plant was very similar to a moss-covered strand of seaweed. It did not look appetizing but if it worked it would be well worth it. This would solve his mobility problem, while Harry could swim he wasn't the strongest swimmer around. Being left at home while your relative went to the beach or pool would do that.
Walking through the Hallways Harry saw that the majority of the students had begun to make their way down to the lake. Following their example, Harry began to make his way down until he saw a few familiar faces.
"Angelina!" Harry called out to his Quidditch captain and the pretty dark-skinned girl turned to look at him.
"Oh, Harry!" She greeted and next to her Katie and Alicia nodded in greeting though they had a bit of guilt on their faces as they avoided eye contact.
"Harry... we just want you to know that we're sorry, we knew you weren't a cheater, but we didn't stick up for you as we should've. It was immature not just because we're housemates but because we're teammates as well. We should've stuck by you no matter what." Angelina said and Katie and Alica nodded while also saying their apologies to him. Harry was happy, he did miss his teammates and was glad to talk to them again.
"Well... I guess if you let me stay on the team without having to try out next year I can accept your apology." Harry said as Angelina laughed.
"Fine, but just this once!" Harry grinned at that, he did miss talking with his quidditch team. Deciding to join them he walked with them towards the lake where he could see three large towers had been erected a little away from the shore. The towers were large, wooden, and rose fairly high to allow spectators a good view of the lake. Though Harry found himself wondering why bother since the task took place under the water so all the people would see would be the lake's surface.
He looked around and didn't see anything to entertain the crowd while they waited, no stalls or stands nothing. Harry just thought that the officials must've been very busy kidnapping the hostages to worry about the crowd.
"Place your bets! Bets are taken here!" He heard a familiar pair of voices cry out.
"Come on now show your support! Who will win today's task! The French beauty, Bulgarian quidditch star, Hogwarts own, or Dark Lord Potter!" Harry wanted to smack his forehead hearing that the Weasley twins had taken up Jones's favored nickname for him.
"Place your bets!"
"Fifty on Dark Lord Potter!" He heard Jones cheer spotting Jones with the twins.
"Really?" Harry asked incredulously. Upon hearing him Jones just cackled while smirking.
"Oh please, I'm sure you won't let me down. Oh Angelina, what a pleasure." Jones said teasingly.
"Jones, miss the pitch?" She asked which got Harry curious.
"Not even a little, besides you should be happy that I don't play anymore, otherwise not even Harry would be able to help you win."
"Wait, you used to play quidditch?" Harry asked and Jones just shrugged.
"Yeah, I just didn't take to it. Come on you need to meet up with the other Champions."
"Wait... Harry." Fred called out
"We're sorry mate."
"We didn't realize how you felt."
"We should've."
"But we didn't, we're also sorry about Ron."
"We've tried to talk to him but."
"You know how he can be."
The twins said and Harry nodded. Like his quidditch team, they hadn't been out to get him so he was more ready to forgive them.
"It's okay, you two didn't do anything to me so, just water under the bridge. Besides, you rescued me second year so I owe you two." Harry said causing the twins to chuckle.
"Wait saved you from what?" Jones asked and Harry shrugged.
"Maybe later."
"Fine, Come on Champion!" She said leading Harry down to the docks. He quickly waved toward the twins and his teammates as he continued on, entering a boat once they reached the docks.
"So where did everyone else go?" He asked and Jones gestured to the middlemost tower.
"Up there, I stayed back to make my bets and stuff, the other champions are gathered at the bottom. The task is starting at eleven and finishes at noon."
"Right." Harry said noticing that the same tower also had a large clock embedded into it." Harry again was a bit underwhelmed for the crowd. For him, it would be a harrowing experience to be sure, but for the crowd, it would be a very boring hour. Once the boat had arrived at the tower the two and a few other students stepped off.
"I'm going up, be careful, and don't make me lose my bet." Jones warned before heading to the steps that lead to the tower's higher levels. Harry shook his head at her warning and went over to where he saw the other champions waiting. He also saw that each champion was already dressed and ready with swimwear and Harry was hoping they had something for him.
Approaching he saw that the champions had the nervousness of the first task but also had fierce determination burning in their eyes as well. Cedric and Krum looked especially angry while Fleur looked very worried.
"I'm guessing that your dates from the Yule Ball were nowhere to be seen this morning right?" Harry asked as the Champions turned and nodded except Fleur.
"If only, non, they have decided to take someone else close to me, bâtards." She hissed.
"You couldn't find Daphne this morning could you?" Cedric asked and Harry scowled while nodding.
"You should change." Krum said his jaw tight as he spoke. Harry nodded and when fleur gestured to a small changing tent that had been placed for them. Entering Harry quickly went about changing and saw that the outfit waiting for him was a simple sleeveless swim shirt and swim trunks. Quickly pulling out his wand he changed the color of the swimwear to be plain black instead of the Gryffindor red and gold it was, probably Dumbledore's idea. He then went about casting the warming charm over his clothes as well like Daphne had shown him. When they figured out it was going to be taking place in the black lake that was one of the first things they went over.
Once he finished changing he took the Gillyweed in his hand and went back out, thankful for the shirt since his scars weren't exposed though a few peeked out around his shoulders they weren't that noticeable thankfully. Looking around he looked at his shadow where he could feel Demona and urged her to leave. She was a creature of fire she wouldn't do well submerged in the water and he wasn't planning to risk her.
Feeling his desire she began to partially manifest in her smokey form before weaving through the shadows looking for either Hermione or Susan. She caused a bit of a stir as frightened yelps sounded as she made her way up which cause Harry to chuckle a bit. Coming back he rejoined the champions group and was very glad for the warming charms. Even through them, he could feel the bite of the cold wind and he wasn't sure if they would hold under the water.
"When I cracked the Egg I didn't think they would take hostages." Cedric said eyes constantly flickering to the water.
"We volunteered for this but putting others in danger just for this task iz inexcusable!" Fleur said getting more and more upset the longer they had to wait. Harry sympathized but was curious as to who they took for her hostage. It wasn't davies otherwise she wouldn't be so upset.
"Champions, get ready!" Bagman said coming over. "Line up here at the edge." He said as the champions lined up quickly eager to save those that had been taken. Bagman went around checking them and Harry saw some of the other officials gathering around preparing for the task to begin. He caught sight of Dumbledore and quickly looked away not wanting to risk it.
"You should put that in your mouth." A voice said from on his right as he looked over and saw Professor Moody as he looked down at the Gillyweed in Harry's hand.
"Welcome, All to the second task! Last night something was taken from our champions and placed within the depths of the lake. The champions will have one hour to look for what they have lost and return." Dumbledore announced and Harry could feel the irritation rise in him. It wasn't something it was someone. Looking down at the Gillyweed he quickly put it in his mouth and as soon as he did he wanted to spit it back out. It was like eating a rotten pickle covered in salt, but even still he forced it down his throat, and as soon as he did he felt the urge to vomit but wasn't able to.
Harry barely heard the sound of the Cannon as he felt himself being pushed into the water. His vision was swimming as it became obscured with silver bubbles. Eventually the urge to vomit passed but was replaced with something like a buzz happening right under his skin. His neck began to burn as what felt like a series of paper cuts came to life on each side. He felt his fingers become what he could only describe as tight like something was pulling them together. Opening his eyes he pulled his hands up he could see a form of webbing begin to grow between his fingers which explained his tight feeling.
Then there were his feet as he saw them morph into long fins his toes seeming to be squished and stretched as it happened. It was all so odd, reaching up he felt his neck and could feel three slits on either side. Steeling himself and going against every instinct in his head he released a breath and instead of the bubbles coming out of his mouth they came from either side of his neck. He then took another breath in and instead of feeling water enter his lungs he could feel them filter through his new gills.
Despite the initial pain and discomfort, he had to admit that this transformation was brilliant. Though he didn't have time to enjoy it as he had a girlfriend to save. Pulling out his wand he held it close and gave it a wave.
"Nexum." he cast his voice sounding odd in the water and once he did the end of his wand lit up with a soft golden light as he felt it tug him slightly to the right of where he was facing. Keeping his wand in a firm grip he began to swim in the direction it was leading him. The fins helped in greatly as he easily sped through the water moving faster and smoother than he ever could before. He also found that the murky and dark depths of the lake were easier for him to see in than he would've expected. Most likely from the Gillyweed transformation.
Harry swam through the depths going deeper until he reached a patch of long seaweed. Upon getting closer he saw a flash of light blue which he guessed must've been Fleur as she navigated through the seaweed forest he could also see a burst of bubbles every so often from her charm. Steeling himself he entered doing his best to move quietly and smoothly. Another advantage to using this Gillyweed he was finding was that he didn't produce any bubbles which meant he could easily avoid many of the creatures noticed in the lake.
In this particular seaweed forest, Hermione had found that it was a favorite territory for Grindylows. He had a plan for them if it came to it but he would rather avoid it and preserve his energy in case the Merpeople were in a skewering mood when he arrived. Going forward being careful to swim as calmy and quickly as possible his ears suddenly picked up what sounded like a muffled scream. Turning his eyes upwards he saw a sudden cloud of bubbles rise from where he heard the sound. Fearing the worst he altered his course to investigate. Parting some seaweed his eyes widened seeing Fleur surrounded by Grindylows.
The little water demons were vicious as they latched onto her with their tentacles and began to bite and scratch. She was struggling as she blasted the creatures with a blue spell but there were just too many. Dashing forward Harry pointed his wand towards the swarm.
"Immobulus!" He cast as a wave of clear slightly silver energy rolled out of his wand. It got a lot of the Grindylows but unfortunately not all of them. His spell caught the attention of some of the creatures that were staying at the side as they began to launch themselves at him. Two of them latched onto his legs and began to claw at him as he felt the tentacles squeeze him keeping a tight grip. Thinking quickly he knew from studying these creatures that they hated the light, which is why they made their homes in the dark thick forests of the seaweed. Raising his wand high above his head he gave it a whirl.
"Lumos Solem!" Immediately the whole surrounding area was engulfed by a blinding light centered around the tip of his wand. When the light appeared he could hear the angry and screechy chattering of the creatures as they tried to cover their eyes with their hands and when that wasn't working as effectively as they wanted it to they began to flee into the surrounding weeds. Once he was sure they were gone he canceled his spell and swam to fleur.
Her bubblehead charm had been popped and she was beginning to spasm from the need for air, even if he cast the charm over her again she would need resuscitation that he couldn't provide under the surface of the water. Acting quickly he quickly cast Acendio and her body began to rise to the surface where he knew Amelia and her security team would act quickly to save her.
Once he was sure she was safe he continued wanting to put as much distance between him and this Grindylow hunting ground as possible. Thankfully he didn't have to go for long as he came upon a sudden drop leading deeper into the lake, casting his charm again he felt the wand tug a bit to the left and down.
The warming charms he had placed on his clothes were beginning to fade and he could feel the chill of the water begin to creep over him. Thankfully the Gillyweed appeared to help him with this as the water wasn't as cold as he thought it would be. He'd rather not be in the water when the transformation ended. Looking around he kept close to the rock face as he descended. As he did he could feel the water pressure increase around him but not terribly so.
It was also getting a bit darker but thankfully the dropoff evened out as he reached the lake bottom. Keeping low he kept his eyes open as he allowed his wand to lead him. Though as he went he felt like he was being watched. Stopping he lowered himself and began to look around. He saw nothing, not even any fish as he looked all that he saw were the slight rays of light that filtered through the water and the murky depths before him.
Then something caught his eye just out of the corner of his vision as he whipped around but whatever it was had disappeared in the murk before he could catch sight of what it was. After a few moments of nothing, he decided to keep on swimming following his wand. Then he heard something like a sudden woosh of water as he spun around again seeing nothing. He began to swim with more purpose wanting to put as much distance between himself and whatever was in the area as possible.
Suddenly he went spinning as he cried out in surprise. Disorientated for a moment he righted himself as quickly as he could and looked around only to see something long and black disappear beyond what he could see. Quickly ducking to one of the rocks he pressed himself to it as he looked around but he couldn't see anything too far out. Whatever had swam over him was hidden in the murk.
He could hear it though, it sounded like a guttural whale call but unlike whale calls, this was anything but soothing. Carefully maneuvering himself he made no sudden movements as he inched towards where his wand pointed him. He didn't know what that thing was and whatever it was he hoped that it was only curious and not hungry. He had put some distance on now and that feeling like something was watching him left and he relaxed ever so slightly.
Eventually, he made it to an area that was surrounded by a few algae-covered ruins. They were stacked brick structures and appeared to have been here for a very long time. Maybe even longer than Hogwarts had been here.
Moving forward he began hearing something. A melodic tune that carried through the water. Keeping as out of sight as he could he began to follow the sound as his wand pulled him in the same direction. Coming over a rise he saw an entire underwater village before him. The structures were similar to the ruins he had found but these were in a much better condition. It was interesting to see as these merpeople had what looked like a mix of standard architecture and organic structures. Some of the houses appeared to be what Harry could tell were giant shells, or some of them were carved right out of the rock face.
Then there were the Merpeople themselves. While studying with the girls he had found description after description about how they looked and he could confidently say that they all paled in comparison to the real thing. They looked slightly human but they appeared more fish than anything else. Their hair didn't even appear to be hair anymore, more like long whiskers that you would find on a catfish. Their faces were slight human but again were much more fish-like with slightly jutting jaws.
They had humanoid torsos that like the rest of their bodies were variations of green or greenish-blue. Some had slight tiger-striped patterns along their backs or spots that he saw. As expected they didn't have legs, having long fishy tails that had many fins and frills along with them. Unlike what you might expect they weren't scaly but instead looked smooth like the rest of their bodies
Taking another look around Harry looked down and spotted Daphne and his blood went cold when he saw her. She looked so lifeless, her skin was pale and the way she floated so motionless... he hated it. He wanted to rush out and rescue her but he held himself back. He needed to play this smart.
Looking towards the others it would appear that Krum had already found his hostage as there were only three of them left and Harry recognized Cho. Then the third girl he didn't recognize but based on her silvery hair and fair skin and appears to be a younger version of Fleur he was able to guess who she was. He felt anger bubble up as well as sympathy for Fleur's situation. Using a girl so young was just despicable they should've just used Davies and called it a day.
He counted around twenty different Merfolk swimming around the hostages each armed with either some form of harpoon spear or trident. He didn't know if he would have to fight them but thankfully his answer came by just in time.
That answer was in the form of Cedric who swam up from behind his own cover and rushed straight for Cho. The Merfolk eyed him but made no moves to stop him as he sent a cutting curse towards the ropes that held her ankles. Seeing how the Merfolk didn't bother him on the way in or out Harry abandoned his spot and swam towards Daphne.
Just like before they eyed him but made no move to stop him. Though Harry did catch something else flash through their eyes when they noticed him approach Daphne instead of the other girl. Something like glee and not the kind that filled Harry with confidence. Pushing it aside for now Harry reached Daphne and gave her a once over making sure she was absolutely unharmed. Once he was satisfied he brought her had up seeing the rune that she had inscribed on her palm just yesterday.
The rune glowed slightly the same color as the magic from his wand and stopped glowing when he canceled the spell. Aiming at the ropes Harry cast the same Cutting curse that Cedric had used releasing her from the ropes. But even when she was freed she didn't rise to the surface. Of course, she didn't that would be too easy.
Looking around he noticed that the Merpeople were all but grinning at the girl who was still trapped. Not being the kind of person to leave someone behind he took his wand and aimed it at her ropes and almost immediately a trident was pressed against his throat and he could see two other merpeople swim behind him. He mentally cursed as they bared their Piranha-like teeth at him while hissing.
"You can only take one!" The one hissed in front of him.
"What's going to happen to her?" He demanded the mermaid didn't answer instead only adopting the same grin it had before. "I'm not leaving her." Harry challenged and the grin morphed back into a snarl. He needed to think fast, Immobulus would stun them for a moment and he could be quick enough to stun the three near him. It was the other seventeen that he was worried about. He was going to be slowed down quite a bit with Daphne, but with the addition of the other girl, he wasn't going to be able to make it out as quickly as he wanted to.
He had to do something as he could see the Mermaid's patience thinning by the second.
"Immobulus!" He cast and the magic rolled out from his wand just like before and just as he hoped it caused the people around him to freeze which allowed him to fire three quick stunners rendering them unconscious. Then a horrid screech rang through the water as the other seventeen saw what happened and began to rush at Harry.
Acting quickly he whipped his wand around him.
"Protego Duo!" He cast and around him a pale bluish glow surrounded him and Daphne and when the first Merfolk reached them and went to skewer Harry its spear bounced off its shield. Keeping the shield up he grabbed Daphne and moved toward the other girl. Keeping the shield he tried to use his other hand to undo the ropes but the webbing on his fingers made it difficult. The mermaids were not letting up as they continued to stab through Harry's shield. He poured more power into it and when the next Merfolk attacked its trident bounced off wildly knicking one of its comrades as it did. When this happened the group spread out more and only attacked one by one. This gave Harry a bit more breathing room as he worked on the knot eventually loosening it enough to slip the girl's feet through though he had to take off her shoes to do so.
Hooking an arm through each of their arms he began to kick furiously as the Merfolk screeched horridly. Harry thought that maybe he would be able to make it through but his hopes were quickly smashed almost literally. A mountain of a merman came swimming above him and unlike its fellows, it did not carry a trident or spear but instead held a large hammer. Before Harry could do anything the Merman brought his hammer down onto Harry's shield which held, but was cracked terribly. The force of the blow had sent Harry and the girls rocketing to the bottom which he bounced off of thanks to his shield.
The Merman wasn't done as it came in for another hit but Harry quickly angled his wand as best as he could.
"Aguamenti!" He called out drawing from the rich magic around him and he was sent flying back as the jet of water blasted him away and the Merman was also sent spinning as it was hit by the sudden current. Harry was having great difficulty controlling his wand as every time it moved even an inch it sent him reeling and spinning. This is also the reason why Hermione suggested that he shouldn't use it to get through the lake. Even if he didn't overpower the spell it would still be too difficult to control not to mention if he should lose his grip on his wand and drop it. There was a chance he could lose it.
Even now his grip on his wand was so tight his knuckles and fingers were turning white from the pressure. Canceling the spell he kicked to right himself and looked back at the Merfolk who despite the current was still on his tail. He needed to free his hand.
"Incarcerous!" He cast and in a flash of light a rope wound itself around the two girls' wrists. Once it had he grabbed it using it as a sort of impromptu handle. Turning back he had his wand hand free as he aimed it toward the incoming merfolk as he began to make his assent. He began to fire stunners as quickly as he could. Though with the push back of the water whenever he made his wand movements cause his aim to be off.
The smaller Merfolk made it to him first as he had to abandon his offense to conjure his shield in time to avoid the first two spears that came his way. He fired a stunner to the third one which connected and knocked it out. He then felt a sudden pain flair in his side as his eyes turned as he saw that the giant Merman had flanked him and his shield was focused in front of him leaving him open.
It all happened in a just few short moments as he was sent spinning but kept his grip on the girls. He needed something more but the spells that could help with widespread attacks he couldn't even use. Not without hurting himself or the girls, or they didn't even function underwater. He needed to think fast as the Merfolk swarmed him. He was outnumbered and as he was now noticing the Gillyweed transformation was beginning to fade.
Then he thought of something, there was a spell he could use that was unaffected by water. A spell he had been working up to since the end of the first task. Looking around he saw that the Merfolk began to rush him, he didn't have time to think about it or consider the consequences. He needed to protect Daphne and Fleur's sister. Raising his wand he pulled all the magic he could feel to him soaking it up like a sponge as he felt it flare around him. His eyes began to glint before glowing as he swung his wand out and flecks of pale blue sparks ignited at the end.
"PROTEGO DIABOLICA!" He screamed and it was as if a blue version of the sun had descended into the lake as the sudden murky darkness was ignited in blue light. Ghostly flames roared into being sending what felt like a storm of bubbles screaming to the surface. The flames writhed around wildly flicking out and swirling until they formed a chaotic protective ring around him. The flames roared around him with tounges whipping out from the rings like snakes striking out at anything that got close.
Harry felt it immediately upon casting like someone had stabbed him with an open live wire and something like an invisible chain wrapped around his wand arm. He felt it, something like his bond with Demona but wild. He could feel its hunger, it wasn't a need or a requirement of survival. It was a gluttonous hunger, something that would tear you apart and devour you simply because it wanted to. There was nothing else, no anger, no curiosity just hunger and desire.
The azure flames flared wildly a storm of firey chaos around him whipping at anything that got close. Three merfolk had already been claimed by the flames being reduced to black and blue ashes in mere seconds before the flames consumed those same ashed leaving nothing to prove their existence.
Suddenly he felt himself being yanked by his wand hand. His arm with that same feeling of an invisible chain now pulls him around wildly. He tightened his grip on both his wand and the rope that connected him to the two girls. If Harry had to describe how he felt right now. It would feel like being electrocuted while simultaneously trying to pull in a great white shark while in the ocean using only a rope. In two words, painful and helpless.
The pain was distracting him greatly and making it near impossible to isolate the connection to the being of the flames. Fighting through the pain he tried to latch on to the connection following this feeling of the chain and the hunger for its source. When he found it he didn't ease into it he lashed out imagining a chain connecting to the beast. When he did a roar rang through the water, it was raspy and it was something like a guttural bellow mixed with a scratchy nail on a chalkboard screech. For a moment a skull peaked out of the flames to snap wildly around before ducking back into the fire. It was a demonic dragon skull just like the symbol found on the Grimoire.
Harry willed more of his magic in the connection and lashed even more mental chains around the beast and he could feel it fighting. Harry was so preoccupied with controlling the spell that he hadn't even noticed that the Merfolk had all fled. Yet even still he was being whipped around appearing to be like a raging ball of azure flames surrounded by blue light and a storm of screeching bubbles.
'STOP!' He shouted in his mind and felt the chains sag for just a moment but quickly resumed their wild flailing. What's more, he felt no recognition coming from the beast, it wasn't responding to his commands. But he felt that it did slow, why did it do that? Unless... what if it was like the Patronus spell. The Patronus required pure emotion to work properly, this beast was similar. Even if it was the polar opposite in terms of executions it was a beast of pure instinct.
He tried again instead of ordering or trying to command it he willed it. Pushing back on the wildness and hunger he willed his mental chains to tighten and he pulled against the flames. He felt an enormous push back but held firm as he gritted his teeth in focus.
Again the wicked skull appeared this time looking straight at him threateningly. Its bones are a shiny black like obsidian but with the creases and scratches glowing blue as if the flames burned within the bone-like structure itself. It stared at him its sockets having only two bright blue orbs gazing back at him. He felt its desire to feed to consume him and the girls but he pushed back and he could see it twitch as he did so.
'You. will. OBEY!' He screamed mentally and the beast roared in his face in defiance but Harry poured all he could, all his power all his willpower as the pain he felt began to fade traveling back out his arm and out as a pulse of power and the Demon dragon reeled back as if struck disappearing back into the flames. Then the mental chains he felt, while still being taught in his will were still, the desire was still there but it was controlled as if waiting to be aimed.
Not having paid attention he instead noticed a completely different form a pain, suffocation. Having completely focused on the spell on controlling the Beast of Purgatory he had disregarded the fact that his Gillyweed transformation had completely faded. Looking up he could see he was sinking. Pointing his wand upwards the flames, which were once wild and unpredictable now swirled around him in a chaotic yet controlled cyclone.
'Up!' He willed and the flames came around him and began to solidify into that same obsidian like bones until he as well as the girls were enclosed in a black rib cage and he could see other structures forming such as a pair of bony draconic wings, the neck and skull following.
Meanwhile, on the surface, everyone was on the edge of their seats. Krum had appeared first his shark transfigured head quickly shifting back into a human as he aided his girlfriend to the tower. Fleur was the second to come up but it took only seconds before the present Aurors noticed she wasn't in a good way and flew out to retrieve her. She was quickly ushered to the medical tent for her injuries. Once she was properly resuscitated she wanted to get back into the water but the officials stopped saying that she failed the task. She argued and had to be held by her classmates.
A short while after that Cedric returned with Cho. He made it back to the tower with no issue and no injury so he was cleared. Though now everyone was holding their breaths as the seconds ticked by for Harry, turning into minutes as they waited. Hermione and Susan were becoming increasingly worried. Harry had everything they needed to succeed but the Gillyweed gave the other competitors a decent headstart as he transformed. But even still he should've been back by now.
The crowd suddenly began chattering excitedly as a storm of bubbles began to rise to the surface. At first, it was just short bursts then suddenly the Black Lake wasn't so black as a sudden brilliant azure light flooded out of the depths accompanied by a ridiculous amount of angry bubbles as they sent waves rolling across the surface. Everyone was confused but equally excited remembering the show that Harry put on for the first task.
However, even with that, no one could've guessed what would come next. The area where the bubbles were coming to the surface began to swell upwards the light becoming brighter and brighter as it did. Suddenly the crowd could hear what sounded like a deep guttural roar mixed with a screech as the swell finally broke sending water flying everywhere with an angry hiss and steam. What greeted the viewers was the image of a mighty black skeletal dragon wreathed in azure flames and it released another roar.
It then flapped its wings furiously speeding towards the tower. The viewers began to panic as they began to rise and try to flee in panic. However, bits of the dragon began to break off as it approached and the flames around it began to flicker out. Only the skull and ribcage remained with a small cloak of fire around it until it reached the tower before falling away completely. As it disappeared three forms shot from the flames hitting the tower floor hard as they slid along it. As the smoke and steam cleared everyone who could see was shocked to see it was Harry with Daphne and Fleur's little sister clutched protectively in his arms.
Harry looked around his eyesight going dim and fuzzy a ringing ever-present in his ears. He felt movement in his arms as whatever charm the girls were under lifted and they awakened. He wanted to check on them to ask if Daphne was okay. But he couldn't move, this was even worse than his first task. It was beyond just soreness he felt numb and that should've scared him but he was too tired to even care about it. He barely registered two more fuzzy forms rush to his side which he guessed must have been Susan and Hermione as he finally couldn't keep his eyes open anymore and he slipped to the merciful blackness of sleep.
_SCENE_
Here it is chapter 14! The second task which I hope I was able to give proper excitement to. Also, we got the Protego Diabolica spell! I love that spell and I hope I was able to give it proper love and scale. Thanks to everyone reviewing and helping me with the small mistakes I make, I'm using Grammarly now but even still some things still slip through. I also don't know if Ya'll checked but I went back with Grammarly and redid the previous chapters so they should be easier to read with fewer mistakes. Anyway hope you enjoyed and until next time this has been your Average, Ordinary, Everyday Fallen Angel!