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February 2, 1995
Fleur was still looking at him silently, curiously, for a good ten seconds after he had finished speaking. She was clearly very interested — he was in her room, speaking with her respectfully if vaguely annoyed and wasn't attempting to come on to her. That had to count for something, at least in his head, he figured it did. To a limited degree, he could even under her hesitance at accepting assistance and why she hadn't wanted him to linger in the surprisingly spacious halls.
"Deal," she finally said, her expression far less teasing or suggestive and finally more like that of a friend… schoolmate. "I will hear what you have to say, it is interesting and as you said, it will help me, no? Why wouldn't I want to hear it?"
Harry reckoned that was the best, most direct answer he'd probably get from her as long as he was visiting and so he instantly jumped on the chance to tell her what she should know so he could get the hell out of her room. Merlin, Lucretia and Alice weren't nearly as uneasy to be around as Fleur was. It was more of a personality thing than anything else, he knew that, but he would have figured Fleur would be easier to talk to than the both of them combined.
"The next task is underwater, we have to take something back that's been taken from us. Sounded pretty rough, but that's it," Harry all but rushed out, already edging towards the exit of her room.
"We go underwater to take something back?" Fleur repeated, chewing at the side of her cheek as she looked over to her chest. "What was taken, if you know? Will it be alright or will it be broken? This lake here is where the task will take place too, no? Can you tell me of the creatures that lurk below the surface?"
Harry swallowed at the bombardment of questions and shook his head once. "I don't know what was taken, but it sounded pretty important. When I looked about, I never saw what all got taken from me and when I asked my friends in case it was something of theirs, they said they weren't missing anything either, so I guess we'll see. They wouldn't break what they took either, at least I would hope not, that'd be pretty horrible and yeah, we reckon the lake is where the task will be since they've kept everything here at Hogwarts based on the look of things. I'll get you a book that explains what all is down there too, it'll do a better job than I could… that's it then, yeah?"
"You don't need to leave this soon," Fleur said quickly, smiling at him for what felt like the first real time since they'd been together. "You are nice, kind, I thought you would lie or try to use it to get something from me, but there was none of that. Not unless you messed up, ouais?" Fleur's ending question was practically sang, her voice as teasing as it had been earlier, only this time with a far friendlier, near Alice-like behaviour.
She isn't always rude or closed off, but that feels like it was a bit quick, doesn't it?
Harry wasn't entirely sold on Fleur's new, near-immediate behaviour. As soon as she had gotten something from him that she could likely tell was genuine, she had turned on a bit of that personality charm instead of relying on her natural abilities. It felt wholly different, but at the same time, it was pretty similar, wasn't it?
Fleur frowned ever so slightly at his lack of response and the way he itched towards the door again. Her face looked odd with a sad expression on it, like such a look didn't belong on a girl as beautiful as she was. Whether that was the subtle allure of her being or just something that struck him as alien because there were too many beautiful girls around, he wasn't sure, but it made him pause long enough until she could say something more whilst he remained silent.
"I joke, you're too nice to try and exploit somebody. The others at your school say how polite you are, but at first they spoke poorly of you enough that I was on guard, it is ironic if you put much thought to it — others get the same warning about me, how I am like and what I can do to their relationships with the snap of my fingers," Fleur snapped them to emphasize her point, a look of amusement on her face, albeit one that looked just a smidge forced. "It is not so easy to break up a couple, their must be resentment or an underlying cause for an enamoured wizard to let go of his witch just at the sight of a Veela. I'm not full-blooded, not as much as your friend is, I think, but you can tell that… I am off-topic, sorry."
"You're fine," Harry said, waving off her concern just as easily as he did Lucretia's or Alice's; the older girls were better, nicer really and a whole lot less worried about what others thought. At least, that was his opinion thus far. He could be completely wrong, but the older girls from the other schools were loads better people, most of their companions didn't seem all that bad either.
"Flirting now?" Fleur asked, eyes widening as she blink— smirked at him.
When he let out a breath after a few seconds, one that sounded a bit strained, forceful, he realised he'd been worried just a little bit when she'd thought he'd meant something the wrong way. There was a feeling of dread, especially since she'd come on to him first and his mind, well, it had thought immediately over to the two girls that Fleur herself had mentioned earlier. She didn't seem all that fond of them and the 'reputation' Durmstrang seemed to have amongst Hogwarts felt pretty shared with Beauxbatons.
"I hope that helps, really," Harry said after he swallowed and made sure he wouldn't do anything too stupid as he reached towards her door handle. "Don't want or need anything back either, just figured it's for the best if we're all fine at the end of the tournament, right?"
Fleur didn't respond, but she did move right up to him which made him tense in anticipation, then, she did something he never would have expected even if you'd told him to do just that moments earlier… she hugged him. It wasn't remotely romantic, nor did it seem as if she were trying to seduce him, it was just a nice, soft hug that lasted for a few seconds before she held the door open for him, smiling widely and beautifully.
"I agree," she said, no coldness in her tone or visible on her body language. "You are a surprise, and very nice. Merci, and to quote you — 'eally, Merci."
He couldn't help the little grin that came to him when she used his favourite word and when he left the carriage, not more than a minute later, the smirk still in place, he figured Fleur wasn't all that bad to speak with. She wasn't half as horrible as he would have thought and that was heaps better than he had hoped.
February 7, 1995
Harry was fuming, but not with anybody or anything aside from himself. That water transfiguration spell, while it could be incredibly useful, perhaps the most important out of all that he had learned, was incredibly difficult to do correctly. He didn't understand why it was giving him so much grief, only that it was doing just that regardless of what he changed or how long he attempted to cast that spell. Lucretia wasn't any better with it even if she could manage small shapes. When Alice explained what they were doing was very hard, especially since the population of the lake was smaller than they thought, he had very nearly given up.
As she had explained it, they weren't transfiguring the water so much as the many millions of particles — fish poop especially — that littered it. He didn't have a clue as to how that worked but he knew that with how small that stuff was, that had to be the reason it was so bloody difficult to pull off. Merlin, if there wasn't a way he'd get caught or if he could figure out how to do it without a huge stink being raised, Harry would gladly have spent a thousand Galleons to stock the lake with all sorts of new fish. Those new fish had to poop and that would surely make his life a whole lot easier… he couldn't imagine trying to use the spell in a Muggle pool or small pond.
"You're already looking ahead, towards the next task," Lucretia stated as she appeared behind him, her tone not accusative or questioning, but as if she were stating a fact rather than anything else.
"Yeah," Harry answered, plopping down a marker in his book before setting the whole thing to rest on the desk in front of him. "Felt right, like I should be prepared for anything instead of relying too heavily on spells that take place underwater, you know? I'll never know when I need a spell that has some utility function until it's too late and when that happens, I'd rather know the spell. It, uh, helps that I have two awesome teachers too. Really, I don't think I'd be where I am right now if it weren't for the two of you."
Lucretia snorted and all but fell into the chair next to his, her head resting lazily on the neck rest as she glanced at him. "Mhm," she hummed, her eyes heavily lidded as she sank further into the heavily-cushioned seat. "You don't need to speak all charming when it's just the two of us. Alice likes that kind of talk just as much as she likes you, but with me, you can say exactly what you think and without needing to sugarcoat it. Believe me, I never watch what I say when I'm with you."
I know that well enough, don't I? Harry thought, resisting the urge to snicker since the girl could flick his nose or hit him with a hex even as relaxed as she currently was.
"I don't have a crush on her," Harry blurted out as the silence lingered and Lucretia kept staring at him, content in said silence.
"No?" She asked, a knowing expression on her face and an eyebrow raised at him. "Well isn't that a relief? Our Harry doesn't have a crush on one of us over the either, I'll be sure to remember that when you're a year or two older."
He wasn't sure what that meant in its entirety, but the sense of impending doom that grew in his stomach wasn't a good sign. Not by any means, he reckoned. Still, this was Lucretia and she had never done him wrong yet. Alice was the nicer of the two by far, but they were both pretty wicked… hm, Harry leaned back into his chair just as Lucretia did, his head resting on the spot for his neck as his eyes slowly closed.
Today would be a good, nice day, to rest.
February 24, 1995
Harry had decided the morning of the task that he would take an hour or two to himself, before the two older girls were awake and before anybody else came to speak with him. He didn't need the 'friends' who only supported him after he won the first task, he certainly didn't want to speak with Hermione or Ron on account of their personality changes and when it came to the two older Durmstrang girls… he wanted them to have a bit more rest than they usually did. Perhaps there was a portion of him that wanted to take some alone time to study and reflect before the day truly started, but it most definitely wasn't the priority for his doing so.
Come on, Harry urged himself, heated even within his mind as he let his wand arm drop ever so slightly. You can breathe under water, cast all the spells that you'd like, you've even managed to transfigure the water semi-well and yet you can't manage a new spell as easy as this one?
He was entirely too bothered and worked up with himself, but he reckoned anybody in his shoes would be heated and nervous. There was absolutely no chance that they wouldn't be and he knew for a fact that Fleur. as confident as she was, also felt that same sense of nervousness. She loved the heat, flames, and anything else related to fire far more than she cared for water even if she was a pretty strong, uh, swimmer — he'd seen that one day — but she still strongly disliked the idea of staying well submerged. They had promised to watch each other's backs though and that oath still felt incredibly true to heart, and he hoped it would be. The last thing any of them needed towards the bottom of the lake, was an enemy or three.
Still reckon Krum will try something, the bloke doesn't feel right half the time.
Harry huffed and stopped his practice if it could even be called that on account of how little effort he was giving it. Instead, he transfigured himself a seat and sat down, comfortable, as he began to let his tired mind run free; he should have gone to bed earlier than he had, but Merlin, there was simply no sleeping before a task like this. It was truly incredibly difficult regardless of what he faced to the point that he nearly preferred Voldemort. At least he knew he could beat the failed man unlike all of these seemingly random games with Dragons and who knows what else.
"You look like you are worrying yourself half to death," Came Alice's voice from his side, the girl dressed surprisingly warm despite the lack of any real chill on the air. "Why are you away from your cuddling with Alice on the couch, she is comfortable enough for you to fall asleep leaning against, no?"
Harry felt his face heating up on account of her words, but he still managed a nod. "I wanted a bit of time to myself this morning, so I thought I'd come to the lake and see what it looked like. Those stages are massive, so I suppose that's where we'll be having our task," he looked back out across the water and over to where the tournament would take place, speaking when his attention couldn't be further from the pretty girl behind him. "How do you really think I'll do? I guess, how did you and Lucretia think I'd do against the Dragon in that first task?"
"There's no need to be worried, Harry," Alice said, her voice infinitely closer and not a second later, her arms wrapped around his upper body in a comforting, warm embrace.
"You sound just like Fleur when we were making our plans a few days ago. I shouldn't really be too nervous, I guess I'm just concerned? Anxious maybe? I don't rightly know, today just feels weird even if I'm prepared for it thanks to Lucretia and you — really, it's thanks to the both of you that I'm where I am and Fleur's not far behind. She didn't know what half of those things were until I showed her the book about magical creatures in this part of the world," Harry finished his little anxiety-driven rant and finally chanced a glance over his shoulder, towards the face of the girl he'd possibly come to like in the last few days.
No chance of that, mate, Harry thought to himself disdainfully, Alice's beautiful smile and nice-smelling shampoo practically overwhelming him regardless of how used to it he was by now. Yeah, there's no chance she'll ever think of me as anything more than some kid a few years younger that she bailed out of trouble, her and Lucretia both. I bet Lucretia was just teasing me earlier this month, that's what she loves to do.
"You're zoning out, aren't you, sweety?" Alice asked him as a hand began to weave itself through his hair, the occasional tug staving off the sleepiness that had begun to fall on him despite how much he thought he'd rested. "It's life, I don't mind. Pretty girls scare most boys, run a few of them off, but I suppose there are some like you that get tired when we are near. Relax, I tease, you brought up another girl with me right behind you, what can you expect?"
He huffed out a bit of laughter at Alice's tone. She was kidding, he could tell even if she never had truly gotten angry that there was no spite in her words. Competition or a bit of jealousy, there could be on account of Fleur's lineage and Alice's own, it could help that the two girls were very like one another on the inside when their shells were broken; Fleur was very polite, vaguely suggestive and always optimistic despite her army of followers whilst Alice was also very polite and optimistic, if only less suggestive and more driven in learning.
"At least you haven't ditched me because you don't like her," Harry responded, shrugging and getting a bit of a chuckle out before Alice's face appeared before his own with a stare on it that made his grin fall off of his face.
"No," Alice said simply, no undertone or expression beyond the typically beautiful one on her face. "I would not leave you to her, not unless you were the worst person to ever be but I know that's impossible, no? She is good, I'll agree with you, but you already have your gill girl, there's no need for a bird without wings. Lucretia could agree with me, but I think she would say no just to get to me. Regardless, what I mean is neither I nor Domitile would leave you to another group if we found you first. You're our Harry and we fill the two spots you have for older girlfriends. It's impossible to drive us away."
I know that well enough by now, He thought, that earlier grin coming back in full force as his worried thoughts vanished without any lingering sense of them left behind. It wasn't like it had been for Gryffindor, Hermione — try as she might to come back — or Ron. He believed Alice and Lucretia just as much as he had believed the two of them, possibly even slightly less just because of the sheer time he'd had with the other two, but they would stick to their words more than anybody else would. If something was said by either of the two, they would make it happen regardless of the consequences. He respected that more than he would have thought.
"You needed to sleep more than you did," Alice said, sighing as one of her hands lifted his chin up so that their eyes could make contact. "This tired, it is dangerous for you to be underwater where your life will be in danger. I will worry, Lucretia will worry, even your old friends and Fleur, all of us worry for you in our own ways," she stepped back now, stretching and pulling her jacket more tightly around her. "I have something to do, ouais? I'll be back soon, before too long if it goes well. You'll be fine until then?"
He nodded firmly, his girn slightly larger again. "I'll do fine in the task and when I pop out of the water with whatever it was that I was missing, I'll walk straight over to you so you can see for yourself that nothing's wrong. As for Fleur, don't worry about her, I'll keep your competition safe."
Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes as she gracefully walked back towards the path she'd joined him from. "Competition with the flightless bird? It is not possible, my Harry. As good as she is in every way, I'm better. You'll find out eventually if you haven't already, je le promets."
That's… that's definitely more suggestive than Lucretia had been, but Alice doesn't tease like that, right? That's Fleur's thing, rarely Lucretia's, but never Alice's… Merlin, I don't understand witches.
He huffed and sagged further into that chair as he watched the subtle rippling of the water's surface. It was very relaxing, to the point that even whilst he was thinking about witches and how hard it was to understand them, he wasn't getting all that bad of a headache from his lack of comprehension. In the end, before it was time for him to leave and prepare, he had one final thought.
Completing this task won't be half as hard as figuring out what they all say when they speak.
Harry was breathing in, then breathing out. He did so once, twice, thrice and over again. It was weird, he could all but feel the water flowing into him, then, his mouth would open and it would leave him. He did this for nearly one minute, time having become immaterial to him as he lay under the surface of the water and attempted to adapt to the new changes he'd put himself through. The feeling was completely alien and yet, at the same time and thanks exclusively to the magic, entirely natural.
Briefly, very briefly, he wondered if this was how Alice felt when she was under the water, being gill-girl and all. When he made his way back to the surface, he reckoned he'd make it a point to ask her so long as he could actually find the older girl. Really, since the morning, he'd been unable to find her yet Lucretia had assured him that Alice was in no danger. He didn't appreciate the secrets, he hated them, but he wouldn't press the matter… he trusted them, they had never given him reason to do otherwise.
He shook his head then, clearing it and focusing as he saw Fleur at the edge of a great kelp-like vines forest. It looked incredibly large, the weeds within were thick and the fish swimming through those weeds looked just as large as those that were in the open water. In terms of magical creatures, however, he had yet to see one. That didn't mean they weren't around, he knew he was likely being watched by some form of creature, but that wasn't what he needed to worry about at this point in time. No, that would most assuredly be the returning to himself his stolen item.
With a kick of his transfigured lower body and thanks to those perfectly functioning, disgusting gills, he was off like the streaking of a spell. He headed towards Fleur rather than the other paths that had been taken by Cedric and Krum. Those two were ahead, Fleur was appraising the shortcut and Harry was very much in favour of taking a thin line between the vine forest; his was likely equally as dangerous as Fleur's thought of taking the regular old shortcut, so he reckoned the two of them should go at it together for the best chance of success. They didn't have to compete, Merlin, he wouldn't mind second place if it meant everything and everybody was fine.
No stupid competition would ever change his mind in that regard.
I wonder if Fleur will join me, I don't exactly fancy going straight through. She's hesitant for the same reasons I am, I'd wager, Harry thought as he slowed up as he neared her, her face showing her hesitance on account of the book he'd sent her way. It was a good thing he'd done so too, else the crazy witch could have gone straight into some pretty unsavoury magical creatures.
Harry nearly laughed, paused, and then experimentally let himself do just that. When he was laughing, it kind of tickled in a strange, unable to be put into words way. It wasn't a horrible feeling, nor was it one that he particularly cared for — what he did care for, on the other hand, was Fleur now being only a few feet in front of him and with her head cocked as well as lips moving. He wasn't sure if it was her speaking French or if she barely moved her mouth around while she spoke, but he couldn't understand one word from the older girl. It may well have been her gesturing wildly to a grain of fish poop for all he knew.
What is it? Harry mouthed to her, confused as he looked past her and then back at her face, still not sure as to what she was attempting to convey with her speaking. It was too bad that one couldn't invent a spell for sound to travel underwater.
Fleur gave up almost immediately when she appeared to realise that he couldn't understand her and as a result of this, she took hold of his arm and directed them towards where he had been looking only a minute earlier, if even that long had passed. Her idea had been given up, or it appeared that way as they neared his path. Harry didn't fail to notice that her wand was deliberately outstretched in front of them, a barely visible shimmering covering their front and a portion of their sides. He had thought it was some sort of magical shield charm until it sent a fish reeling upon contact. As soon as that happened, he guessed it was a physical barrier and based on her face, one that took a great deal of concentration lest it fell.
It was very impressive and as they moved inwards, the grass on either side of them eventually become all they could see as they travelled, he took up their rear protection. He didn't know what spell it was that she was using and he couldn't very well use any hard cover, lest it affects their visibility or swim speed, so he settled for something he was relatively used to by this point in time; your typical, overly powerful shield charm. His was quite good too, if he did say so himself and unlike hers, his spell didn't need to act as a physical repellent since they were moving forward with Fleur's.
Slowly, they moved further and further with everything going swimmingly. There were no creatures jumping out at them, no spells flying towards them and save for one instance when a rather large fish swam under Fleur's barrier, not one creature that touched them. In regards to that singular large fish, when it had accidentally touched Harry's large tail, it had dashed off straight down the path with terrifying speed. He didn't fail to notice how it avoided going into the reeds and he took that as a sign that they were smart to avoid doing so just as all of the fish had done. Whatever lurked within them was clearly a known threat to fish and people alike.
Fleur tapped him, the action nearly enough to make him jump and fire off a random spell if it weren't for her face appearing in front of his not a second after. She looked attentive, pretty as ever and only slightly nervous, the last emotion was the most surprising on account of her having had precious little time to prepare in comparison to him. Still, she looked composed enough to point out something to their top left. It was spellfire and a lot of it, enough that Harry figured both of the other champions were over in that direction. Cedric and Krum together would only barely equal out all of that, unless one of them had been holding out.
When Fleur saw that he had seen what she was pointing at, she nodded, pointed to the right and grinned. It looked pretty clear to him what her plan was and while normally, he would have been against it… this time he really wasn't. If Krum was distracting whatever their enemy or enemies were, that worked well for Harry and Fleur. Cedric, well, if the boy was helping him or fighting against him, whatever which way it went, Harry didn't mind so long as the both of them made it out alright. You didn't have to be the best of friends with somebody to wish them well.
Harry grabbed Fleur's hand before she continued straight out of the thin valley they still found themselves in and decided to take a peek out before she did. He was being a bit paranoid, he knew, but if that was all a trap or something similar, he'd rather not be caught with his pants down. Thus, with the two of them firmly together and their wands at the ready, they did just that and saw; nothing.
Whatever or whoever the boy or boys had fought, was gone. There wasn't any trace of violence in the water, not like you'd see on the surface. It made a strangely eerie feeling fall on Harry and he wagered Fleur felt similar, but then, right then, he saw what their task was. There were four figures, all of them chained and floating with guards a plenty around them, straight ahead. One of them made him very angry, so horribly angry that he wanted to fire a barrage of spells at the humanoid creatures guarding their captives and another volley at the people who'd called the hostages possessions when this second task was first revealed. He wouldn't do either act, obviously, but Merlin did he want to. Fleur, the girl stock still right beside him, she looked and seemed as angry at the sight as he did, though her eyes were focused on the smaller form of a little blonde girl.
Her sister, if I remember right, Harry thought as his hand sought out Fleur's arm and when she turned to look at him, her eyes filled with the same level of anger and an undertone of worry, he smiled as politely as he could and nodded towards the many mermen around them. They would need to be taken out, he assumed. That or they were guarding the captives from more sinister beings that lurked below the water's surface… that wasn't the greatest thought to have and the distraction that it served as was equally harmful for one reason; Fleur had slowly been moving them straight towards the captives and now, they were very close to the merpeople.
The blokes weren't very handsome.
Fleur turned to him when they stopped right in front of the four figures; Hermione, Cho, Fleur's sister and Alice. For whatever reason, Alice looked different than the rest, more peaceful and fish-like even if her body was the typical one of a human. It didn't make much sense, but he didn't rightly care all that much — what mattered most right this second, was getting her out of the water and finishing this stupid task. He would definitely be asking her about why she had done this too, considering her clothing was that of what it had been in the morning, when he'd seen her on the trail.
Now, about Cedric and Krum, Harry truly was curious as to where the other two had gone off to considering their hostages were still awaiting rescue. It wasn't very Krum-like of, uh, Krum to leave behind Hermione and as favourable to brute force as he was, Harry would have figured there would be some sort of violence dealt against those merpeople who would have attempted to stop him… if they were allowed to do so. Thus far, at least towards he and Fleur, they had only looked at them. It all felt far too easy, enough that it made him think the moment they turned their backs to rescue their respective person, that's when Alice's cousins would strike. If that were the case, it'd be pretty difficult to beat them in such close quarters and it would make sense how that fast-paced fight had ended so quickly.
Krum and Cedric would have been overwhelmed regardless of their spells, for there were so many merpeople that there was nothing that could be done once you were within a good fifty to one-hundred meters of them. Their swim speed was simply too great in comparison to the clumsiness, even whilst transfigured, that they had. Only people like Alice, in the first place, could hope to stand up against people with tail lower-bodies that have had decades to get used to them.
Still… Harry felt horrible leaving anybody behind. Alice was his priority, Fleur and her sister weren't all that far behind, all things considered. Hermione and Cho, they weren't meant for he and Fleur but they were still people he knew, people he didn't want to see any harm come to even if this was said to be safe. Merlin, who believed anything was safe at Hogwarts, right? There wasn't exactly a group of people who made sure all the guarantees were met and even if that came into existence, what were the odds that it'd be kept up? Harry didn't think they were particularly high when he considered his history in the magical community.
Fleur, he tried to say, only to find his mouth filled with water that still remained breathable .He shook his head and brushed her arm carefully, gently enough that he hoped she would be relaxed. The last thing he needed was her attacking him out of fright or concern that he wasn't a friend. No, that wouldn't be remotely ideal thanks to the current situation.
She turned to look at him quickly, her wand still raised and clutched tightly in her hand. Her face seemed a bit different, sharper and her eyes, they didn't radiate that familiar sense of humanity. No, right now, they seemd distinctly different and far less familiar, but still, she focused on him as he pointed to all four, then towards the surface of the water. His message was clear enough, he hoped and after a few seconds, ones in which he was extraordinarily worried, she nodded as slowly as possible. He didn't miss how she stayed right beside her little sister, he didn't blame her for doing so, but he was still happy that she edged closer to Hermione whilst he moved to stand between Cho and Alice with the latter obviously given more favour than the former.
We will go on a mark, Fleur mouthed to him, her speech extremely exaggerated and that bubble of hers a great deal smaller than it had been earlier in the task, Three… Two… One…
He was off, the chains that bound Alice and Cho now completely left behind as he rapidly rose from the depths of the water with Fleur and her two rescuees right beside her. It had gone swimmingly, until, like all things, it didn't. There was a pressure at his feet, one that felt incredibly like a large, strong hand that was trying to yank him back down below and into the depths of the lake. That thought alone was enough to make him send the two girls up, towards the surface and Fleur. Wherever the other two were, he had never needed them more than he currently did and at that same time, he knew they wouldn't be coming to help. It was incredibly likely that whatever had gotten them — like the Merpeople he figured were getting him — was now on him and so he dove back down to meet the challenger or group of them.
Harry would buy enough time for those above him to escape and if he failed, Fleur was next. He didn't doubt that she'd help their rescuees; his wand in hand, he twirled in the water as the hand let go and he looked down to see a myriad of mermen. All of them were angry-looking and confrontational, the closest one especially was strong and fierce-looking, but that didn't matter any to Harry. He would take the man down just as easily as he had Voldemort those prior times.
Thus, he did the first thing that came to his mind and the man before him was sent reeling with many a twitch forcing him down just as he'd tried to do to Harry. That wasn't to say Harry wasn't affected any just simply thanks to the proximity, he knew it was dangerous to use magic of an electric nature underwater, but he'd cast it underpowered enough that it should only stun and hurt severly whomsoever was unlucky enough to find themself on the receiving end. Really, if the merman wouldn't have wanted to get hit in the first place, he would have avoided grabbing Harry's leg.
He would've snickered at his own joke if it wasn't for the dozen, two dozen maybe, of that bloke's friends that started swimming up faster than any fish he'd yet seen upon him doing that. Now, with his wand in his hand and viciousness on his mind at Alice's treatment, was the time to fight.
Harry did a circle, his tail-like lower body feeling increasingly unsteady as he deftly dodged every which way. He was getting tired, the muscles therein were rarely used and the comfort of maintaining such a high degree of transfiguration on himself was wearing him down. On and on the fight had gone, though in all reality, it had likely only been a few minutes. The pace they all had, himself included, was simply too difficult to maintain whilst keeping his alterations and barrage up.
They knew it too; the angry, sharp looks and the silent snarls sent his way the closer their misses got told him as much. It would soon be over for him, one way or the other, unless he was able to decisively defeat them. There was one spell he could use, but it wasn't enough and Fleur… he hadn't seen her or the four they'd rescued together since he'd sent his two up.
She would have been smart if she left me behind to deal with this shite storm, Harry thought as he rolled out to his left, his arm extended and a red spell sent streaking through the water until it struck the chest of one of the men he had suddenly found himself up against. Another one in close proximity — very close proximity — was just about to take him from the left flank when suddenly, he withdrew.
It didn't make sense but Harry capitalised on it and shot upwards, going as fast as he could and making as much distance as was possible, until, he was very near the surface of the water again. When he did just that, he finally realised how far out into the lake he had gotten, as the podium and the crowds were suddenly a few hundred meters out instead of being only half or a quarter as far. He could make out five blobs seated where he and the others had initially dove into the water from, but he couldn't make out the owners of those blobs. In all honesty, he didn't have much of a chance to do so before his newest foe was upon him, ones that bolted out far faster than the mermen from those long, tall reeds.
They were tiny, hideous and horribly fast. He didn't initially recognise them but once he did, his body felt colder, his focus weigned and his exhaustion as well as the hopelessness of victory set in. There was only one real course of action by that point, one that he had no confidence in but yet still had to try lest his two Durmstrang girls beat the piss out of him, as Ron would say.
He raised his wand, steadied his hand and let loose the spell that transfigured all of the debris that floated in the water. Merlin, he had never hoped to be swimming in a horribly polluted lake before, but this time around, he hoped the lake was filled with fish dung and mermen dung alike; he reckoned the latter was relatively likely with how they'd just gotten their arses kicked by him.
There was nothing, barely a few pieces of solid material that formed the worlds smallest physical shield in front of him; the beasts closed in, the distance rapidly shrinking from fifty meters out to twenty-five in the short bit of time he'd cast that singular spell.
His tail felt like it was about ready to fall off unless he got his legs back, but again, he forced all of his willpower, fortitude and strength into that spell of his and again, it failed him. There was no barrier save for the start of something that would require a hell of a lot longer to take form. The creatures, in that time, had halved the distance again and now with them closer than ever, he had finally become to succumb to his wounds.
There was a flash of light, he felt his limbs tingling and when he looked back, all he saw were the many stunned creatures now floating aimlessly whilst his quarter-cover shield stayed almost perfectly still. The effect hadn't come from his spell, he knew that considering how often he'd worked on it, no, instead it had come from somebody he hadn't expected to see.
Cedric, the boy was bleeding from multiple spots all across his body and right beside him, only now coming free from a cave, was Fleur. She looked a bit worse off than when he had left her, but she had come back for him with assistance. Her bubble looked very small, Cedric's didn't look all that great either but as they formed a circle and began to cautiously swim back to their barrier, he recognised this was what he'd wanted from the tournament and the champions therein since the start; glory didn't matter as much as comradeship did, and these two had shown just that.
Harry wouldn't forget that, not in his lifetime and not the risk that their actions had.
"Well, that's that then, isn't it?" Cedric asked, huffing as he sat down on the stage, all of the spectators and judges be damned.
Fleur raised her nose ever so slightly, her hair already dry and the towel around her transfigured to be larger and more comfortable, though she refused to sit on the floor. "We are done, but I am curious to hear what happened to you and Krum. You will tell us later, away from the rogue ears, no?"
Cedric muttered something under his breath, but he nodded a few seconds after. "I can do that so long as Harry tells me how he was able to transfigure his lower body," the older boy crawled a bit of the ways to half-heartedly pat Harry on the back, the motion incredibly tired to any and all onlookers. "Reckon the rest of us champions could learn a thing or two from you, huh mate?"
Harry shook his head profusely. "It's everybody else that could learn a thing or two from the both of you, I think. Really, how many of them would have come back to help me now that everything was said and done, yeah? The hostages were rescued, there wasn't any reason for you to return, but you still did it. Thanks, both of you, I wouldn't have fancied becoming their meal."
Truly, Harry hoped the older two champions could understand just how thankful he was. That help that he had given them, it wasn't worth the danger they'd put themselves in by returning for him. He wouldn't have died, but there would have definitely been some pretty rough, painful wounds that would have needed treatment.
"You helped me a few times in the past and if I'm honest with you, mate, there's nobody else here that plays Quidditch half as good as you. Figured I'd need the competition, especially since you keep it clean," Cedric said, chuckling and with a goofy smile on his face as he lightly nudged the younger boy.
Fleur, on the other hand, walked over to him at the same time two new figures appeared. One with a change of clothes and a smile on her face while the other was openly scowling, though he could see the nervousness that still rattled around; they didn't approach fast enough to stop Fleur's interaction and based on Alice's expression of kindness, she didn't mind sharing him in this instance. If he had to guess why that was, he figured she knew there wouldn't be much of him left to share without Fleur's return.
"You helped me with much and that was after I doubted you," Fleur said, careful with her words as her eyes flickered around the crowd. "I don't forget that, Harry. You are a friend worth more than most, ouais, my parents will meet you eventually too. If only for my papa to shake your hand as he will insist to do — now come, both of you, we are to stand and earn our points. Krum, I don't know where he has gone so perhaps we'll learn that too."
Harry was definitely nervous about meeting her father and what that meant, if anything, but he and Cedric nodded to one another. The faster they got their points, the faster they could bugger off and not have any issues. That worked perfectly fine for them, as the politics of these games and the games themselves were truly, very stupid.
Merlin, Harry wished the Magicals could have just taken something from the Muggle world and done a typical school exchange program That would have been far safer and without all the measuring that was happening between student bodies and the staff that had come with them.
March 2, 1995
Harry set down the copy of the Prophet and folded his arms. He didn't understand how they could always manage to ruin something, everything it seemed like, but again, that Skeeter would have done it. She had fabricated lies about his love life this time around and all that served to do was make him more 'appealing' to the witches of his time. That's how Lucretia painted the picture; she said it should make him more attractive to other witches if they thought more witches wanted him.
I don't have a clue as to how that works, Harry thought with a huff and shake of his head, I'll never get witches, will I? At least not their fascination with relationships or any of their thoughts on things.
"If it makes you so angry, why do you still read it?" Alice asked the moment she entered the room, an inquisitive, vaguely amused expression on her face as she came to a halt in front of him. "You go silent now, are you still upset that I let them take me below the surface?"
He shook his head. Harry wasn't upset with her, he was annoyed at the organisers of the bloody stupid games. She should never have been allowed below the water and beyond that, not remotely dosed with whatever they'd given her that made her look worse than the others. It had bothered him in a deeply primal part of his brain, a part that didn't have deductive reasoning or logical thinking, only base instincts that drove him into action. Perhaps long ago, it had been a sort of survival mechanism, but now all it proved itself to be, was a hindrance.
"If you're not mad at me, you'll speak, won't you?" Alice asked with a pout as her hand found its way into his hair.
"I read the Prophet because I hope that, eventually, this shite will change. It's crazy how she's able to get away with ruining or speculating about people's lives all for the sake of the amusement of her readers. Isn't it slander or, well, anything?" Harry said, his tone more aggressive than he would have hoped but the venting made him feel lighter than he had in the past few weeks.
Wonder why that is, huh. I got a shared first place, I wasn't horribly wounded, disqualified or left behind by my new 'friends'... everything's strangely good, but that'll change. It always seems to regardless of what happens.
Alice made a noise, one that was sad and coo-like at the same time. "You look cute when you sulk, but let us move and get away from such unimportant things such as a lonely woman's thoughts, no?" Alice leaned down and gently plucked his hand from his side, pulling it upwards so that he had to stand. "We will go to the lake for a time, then we'll meet with Lucretia. You did not think the tournament was already over just because you've finished in first so far, no?"
Harry obviously didn't think that, but Alice didn't let him say as much before she was pulling him away. What he did get out, however, was the first question that came to him about their destination — he wouldn't get mad at her for going under the lake as his friend that needed rescuing, but he sure as hell wouldn't be happy with her for opting to do so, thus, that was a train of thought best left alone. For their friendship and for his sanity.
"Why the lake?" Harry asked, his eyes on the side of Alice's face as she led them off and in the direction of the aforementioned body of water.
Alice didn't even turn to regard him when she answered and her tone, as was expected of her, was as light and happy-sounding as ever. "Why not the lake?"
I could think of a dozen reasons or so, Harry thought, miffed, inside of his head as they continued on. It's like nothing happened, or as if she doesn't remember it or won't care to do so, I don't get it.
"We're not going to talk about the task, are we?" He asked, more curious after that flash of anger had subsided thanks to the louder-than-usual musical notes in the air. "You know, Fleur's allure isn't half as effective as yours is… are you stronger than her? Is there another reason?"
As he suspected when he mentioned the task, Alice shook her head. "We can talk about it if you would like to, but I have no love for it, you know as much already, I would think. Fleur's natural abilities are different than mine even if we are historical competitors back when little magicals and humans huddled around fires for safety from the 'dangerous' beings of the night —" Alice leaned down and kissed his forehead, grinning when she pulled back. " — Veela and Sirens, they are similar but different. Cousins, we call each other, but our abilities are very different if even they seem similar to the typical person. I can not say why hers seems different to you without knowing her heritage, but I would think she is not full-blooded, but neither am I. She could be of strong lineage, close enough for traits but far away enough to lack the full changes."
"I see… thanks… so, uh, what did you want to do while we're at the lake? Is there anything you were planning, or did you just want to spend time together?" Harry asked, coughing lightly and looking away now that his question was answered; he didn't know why, but it felt awkward to know, perhaps rude of him to ask.
Alice cocked her head ever so slightly, no less of a friendly expression on her face before she tightened her hold around his hand. "I was wanting to spend time with you after the task, to make sure we are well and you do not hold a grudge. It was not possible to tell you what I was gone for, but as you saw, it was needed. Would you have let me go if you knew I would be what you rescue?"
He wanted to say that, yes, he would have let her leave since he knew he could rescue her, but he didn't. It wasn't that he doubted his own abilities, that was impossible after all the time they'd invested into him, but really, he just didn't like the thought of them being in danger. Hogwarts didn't have a good track record, the whole country didn't have all that good of a history when it came to safety. How could he in any right state of mind have risked letting her do exactly what it was that she had done?
It was horrible to think and he knew that Alice would remember his hesitance. "Probably not, at least, not without a conversation. I don't think that's all that bad though, do you?"
Alice grinned and turned them onto the trail now that they were off the Durmstrang ship, the soft fluttering of tree branches and tall grass making for a beautiful sight as they walked. "Conversation makes the world turn, words are what make us and that is why most people tend to stick to what they say. If you cannot, you are but an animal in the skin of a person, no?"
"I guess, but that sounds… bad?" Harry suggested, not exactly sure as to how he could put it without coming off as a total dork or something of that likeness. Really, all he knew was that calling people an animal wouldn't really get you far in life.
They made a turn around a large tree with heavy growth around the base in the form of hedges and nearly walked right into a small group of Hogwarts students, the majority of the group being made up of blokes with two or three witches mixed in. All of them gave them eyes, with the girls whispering and the blokes giving him varying looks from appraisal to disdain, a few were awe-filled, but the lattermost group was clearly in the minority.
"If I said it in another language, you would not understand but my meaning would be clearer," Alice said with a shrug, seemingly not bothered in the slightest with how it sounded in English as they moved farther away from the Hogwarts group. "Should I give you more space too? I saw how your schoolmates look at us, but I don't care what they say about me and Lucretia certainly pays them no mind."
"I don't much care for what they say anymore either. Hermione's alright, she's made up even if things aren't the way they were before… Ron and the others, well, they've tried and Professor Dumbledore hasn't said anything about anything to me since the day my name was called from the Goblet. Anybody who wants to approach me and give it a go is fine by me, but if they don't want to do that, I reckon I don't care all that much for what their opinions are," Harry finished with a huff as he moved slightly closer to Alice, not bothered if anybody else saw him as close as he currently was to her. It was his life, after all, not theirs. So what if he wanted to spend it with her or Lucretia for as long as he could?
Alice didn't say much after those words, instead, she chose to smile at him and pull him along at a much faster pace. He didn't understand why that was, her happiness despite how true his words were, was infectious as always. No day would ever come when it wasn't, at least no day that he would ever care to bear witness to.
March 28, 1995
Sirius had finally written to him!
It had been nearly a year since he'd heard from his godfather in any great regard, but that dry streak was over and the man had finally reached out to him. Harry could never say how much it meant to him, to have a living person who was near enough to a relative, but Merlin, any bad day or month could be overwritten by speaking with Sirius. The man had become a father figure to him despite how little he was around. It wasn't ideal, it wouldn't ever be, but Sirius' presence was better than no presence at all, at least that was how Harry looked at it.
"Sirius Black, the man who committed many a crime — supposedly — wrote to you?" Lucretia asked, with Alice standing silently right beside her and with a look of worry on her face, one that did little to change her otherwise beautiful features. "Forgive me if my words come across as crass or rude, but are you sure the man is all that trustworthy? I mean, how are you able to accurately judge his character? Or ours, for that matter, for we were in a wonderful position to lead you astray had we so wanted to."
Harry hadn't thought of them like that, he still didn't even with Lucretia saying that, but he wasn't one to back down at such words. Nor was he one to sit down and allow Sirius' character to be spoken poorly of, for the man deserved so much more than his lot in life had given him. "Sirius isn't who the Prophet says he is. I'm not who the Prophet claims I am, neither of you are older seductresses inherently competing with one another and Fleur Delacour at the same time either, now are you? All of that aside and hopefully clarified, I'll tell you that…"
Alice seized the initiative immediately upon his silence, one of her soft hands coming to rest on his forearm while the other began to gently massage his scalp. "You can tell us whatever you would like, you know we will never do anything to betray your confidence, Harry."
With a frown at the other girl, Lucretia nodded, albeit slowly. "I'll never do anything to piss you off if that's why you're looking at me the way you are. We're friends, even if you can be a bit thick from time to time, but that's why we're here, isn't it?" Lucretia nodded to Alice and then gestured to herself before she took one step closer to him, careful to maintain a bit of distance, unlike the other girl. "All we want to know is if the man is trustworthy and if he has your best intentions in mind. If you can say yes to both of those questions, as far as I'm concerned, he's a good enough man for you to spend your time with."
Harry could feel Alice nod behind him, a soft coo coming from her when she noticed a particularly nice spot on the top of his head that made him squirm a fair bit. She enjoyed doing that, especially during serious conversations at which point her inherent magic would make nearly anybody she spoke with more pliant. It felt like an unfair advantage in her favour, but he couldn't complain all that much. Not when it felt so nice and her hands could literally work magic on his body.
Deserve it after the task, I reckon. My body still feels sore over a month later.
"Sirius would never do anything to harm me, he's actually done his best and more to protect me. If it weren't for him, there's a chance I might never have gotten to speak with the pair of you if that says anything," Harry said, recalling how the man had saved him and his friends the year prior. "I'm not lying. Sirius is the only person I've ever considered a father even if I rarely get to see him."
Lucretia was looking at him intently, her calculating gaze lingering and silence reigning supreme as the minutes went by. She didn't say anything, she watched him all the while Alice worked his muscles down his back and in his shoulders. Nearly a minute passed with the three of them in that circumstance, until finally, Lucretia gave a partial shrug.
"If he's that important to him, then we can all go and meet him. I'd sure like the chance to speak with a man who's gotten you to trust him as well as he has and I'm sure the sight of Alice and I at your side would be welcome — all fathers seem pretty in favour of their sons, adoptive or otherwise, spending time with pretty older witches. Wouldn't you say the same, Alice?" Lucretia asked, snickering as Harry began to squirm under her sight and Alice's now fleeting touches as she withdrew, only occasionally running her hand down his back.
"Ouais, of course. Harry has the prettiest witches of our school wrapped around his fingers, should the people listen to the Prophet. That may be the week prior though, I forgot the lies as they fall from the pages as often as they do," Alice said, laughing lightly before she finally fully withdrew to lay in a seat of her own, the picture of comfort and luxury. "We will go to Sirius, when?"
"I'd be down for tonight if the two of you are. I haven't exactly seen him anytime recently to plan it out, but I reckon I know the cave he's currently calling home… you wouldn't mind if we made a quick trip to Hogsmeade though, right? Maybe get him a few snacks and other goods that he's probably missing?" Harry asked, tentative and at the same time, a bit more confidence in his tone as he looked between the older girls; Sirius deserved as much, for the man was giving up some measure of comfort just to aid Harry should he need him.
Lucretia looked nearly ready to respond, but Alice stole the chance. "Hogsmeade sounds wonderful, it would be good for all of us to grab a few things, no?" Alice plucked at her face, her bottom lip sticking out. "My products are low, I would like a new shampoo too. Apparently, the Muggles have many that do wonders if the Muggleborn are to be believed. It sounds interesting to try, I think and maybe, we could look for interesting items of any kind. Spellbooks are plentiful where I come from, it is curious that they are so rare in your homeland, the both of you."