oooOOOoooOOOooo Chapter 31
The next few weeks floated by in a haze of love for Harry. He didn't care that he was in almost daily talks with Elphias about the Ministry's antics. The fools did ask for a review hearing before the ICW. Fudge truly thought that someone would hand him Harry and his children.
Dumbledore saw the depth of love that had sprouted between the people surrounding Harry since Valentine's Day. Even Moody was in love. Dumbledore could tell. Alastor was much more grumpy than usual, yet the smile never left his face. It was a sure sign.
Before Harry knew it, it was time for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry had honestly forgotten about the next event, scheduled for February 24. He had too much happy distraction to remember the minor annoyance. Still, he had stuck to his training schedule and felt ready when he was reminded.
"Our very darey Harry!" said Fred, grinning at his pseudo little brother. He was certainly a better brother than Ron, who was truly starting to resent his ever relaxing punishment. The git still blamed Harry for his problems.
"Little Harry, quite contrary," sang George. He was very happy today. Angelina was making his everyday better and better.
"What's up, buttercups?" asked a grinning Harry. Draco sneered to see it. He hated Harry more with every passing day. The Malfoy family had been forced to liquidate several of their investments to have enough funding to pay off Fudge. The bastard was demanding his usual tributes even though he knew the Malfoys didn't have the funds anymore. Narcissa was getting stressed. She was trying to sell two of their remaining properties right now in hopes of having enough for the summer and for Fudge.
"Just thinking about the second task," said Fred. He was happy that Harry was happy. That didn't happen often enough.
"Shite! I forgot," said Harry. The twins laughed.
"A life-and-death tournament that could bring gold and eternal prestige and he forgot," said a laughing George.
Harry just shrugged. "I never wanted to be in this tournament to begin with."
"Yes, well, we're still going to win," said a winking Fred.
"For certain," said George.
"Anyway, we should have a prep sesh. The next task is on Friday," said Fred.
"That's in two days!" said Harry. The twins laughed again.
"You're hilarious. So many death defying adventures that he forgot one!" hooted George.
Hermione and Gabrielle just shook their heads at their antics.
"I reckon we should do something then?" asked Harry, reluctantly.
"You're lucky we did something without you," said Fred.
"What?" asked Harry.
"Figured out the clue," said George.
"We had a clue?" asked Harry.
"Maybe you didn't have a clue," said a joking Fred.
"But we did," said George.
"The golden egg that you battled a dragon for?" asked Fred.
"It was a clue?" asked Harry.
"It was," agreed George.
"What was the clue?" asked Hermione.
"A riddle but don't worry, we figured it out," said a grinning Fred. Hermione gave him a look. Fred sighed and handed over a slip of paper with the riddle on it.
"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took," read Gabrielle quietly over Hermione's shoulder.
"Exactly," said Fred.
"They're taking hostages, boys. We'll have one hour to retrieve them from the Black Lake," said George.
Harry sat up, alarmed.
"What do you mean they're taking hostages? Who?" asked Harry.
"Don't rightly know. Could be one of us. Could be another person. Could be a person for each of us," said Fred with a shrug.
"What makes you think they'll hide the person in the lake?" asked Hermione.
"The riddle wasn't in English. It was in Mermish," said George.
"We used to listen to a Mermish radio station on the Wizarding Wireless to bug Percy," said Fred, with a grin.
Harry looked stressed. "They'll take one of you. Or both of you," said Harry to Hermione and Gabrielle.
The girls exchanged a look.
"If they do, you'll find us. You can track us, remember?" asked Hermione.
"I'm not letting them take you! You could be hurt!" said Harry.
"Harry. Dumbledore wouldn't let us be hurt. He won't let anyone be hurt if it's avoidable," said Hermione.
"No, I don't know that," said Harry. "He certainly never tried to make sure I didn't get hurt!"
Gabrielle and Hermione exchanged a look. It was true.
"Okay. New plan. If they try to take us, I'll signal you. You come get us right away," said Gabrielle.
"How would you do that?" asked Harry.
"I'll research something," said Hermione, soothingly.
"See? It'll be fine mate," said Fred.
"We just have to make sure that we're ready," said George.
"Hence, the practice sesh," said Fred. "How's straight after classes?"
Harry sighed. "I hate to tell you this, guys, but I don't know how to swim. I don't know how helpful I can be."
"You don't need to swim," said Neville, who was eating across from them, listening to the chatter. "You just need gillyweed."
Everyone turned to look at him. "What's gillyweed?" asked Hermione, intrigued.
"Gillyweed is a hydrophyte. It grows in water. It's a magical plant that can make a person grow gills and webbed hands and feet. You'll still need to do something about casting spells underwater. You won't be able to talk," said Neville.
The twins exchanged a look. They hadn't considered that problem.
"We were thinking a bubblehead charm and just swim," said Fred.
"That won't work very well for casting spells," said George.
"How good is your silent casting?" asked Harry.
"Fair hand. Not as good as we are with spoken word," said George.
"I'm alright at it, too. In tense situations I tend to yell my spells," said Harry.
"Right," said Fred.
"What about a dive helmet?" asked Hermione. "You should be able to get one you can speak with that won't cover up gills in the neck.
"What's a dive helmet?" asked Fred.
"Where would we get one?" asked George.
"We'd need to go to London," said Hermione.
The twins grinned. "Wanna go on a triple date tonight?" Fred asked.
"A night on the town? We can eat somewhere delicious and do something mundane," said George.
"We could watch a film," said Harry, perking up. He liked films.
"Perfect. Meet at the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor at 4pm?" asked George.
Harry looked pleadingly at Hermione. She rolled her eyes but agreed.
"Just because I know how important this could be to your success in the tournament," said Hermione, smiling.
The fun evening passed quickly and soon enough, twas the night before the event. Harry was nervous. Hermione was nowhere to be found. She went to the library with Gabrielle over two hours ago. It was 20 minutes past curfew. Harry was pacing in front of her bedroom door, waiting for her to come.
When she was an hour late for curfew, Harry knew. At least Hermione had been taken.
Harry jumped out of his trunk and hurried up to the sixth floor boys' dorm.
He knocked on the door. A tousle headed Lee Jordan answered the door.
"Hey, Harry. What's up?" asked Lee.
"I need the twins," said Harry, urgently.
"Well, come on in, handsome," said George with a saucy wink. Harry blinked. He blushed fiercely when he realized he was in a pair of pajama bottoms and nothing else.
"This is serious. Hermione didn't come back from curfew," said Harry.
Fred joined George.
"Showtime?" asked Fred.
"Time for the show," said George.
"Get your gear, Harrykins and we'll get this done," said Fred.
Harry turned and ran.
Twenty minutes later, Harry, Fred, and George were standing beside the lake in February in nothing but a wetsuit and a strange-feeling diving helmet that covered their faces but not their necks.
They had experimented with the things. They fit just behind the ears and just in front of the gills. The mask would fill with oxygen but the boys wouldn't really breathe. They'd just be able to talk. They had a set of headphones to connect to one another and wrist straps for their wands, in case they tried to float away.
"Ready?" Harry asked. He had a waterproof bag on his back that had some blankets, a raft, and some hot cocoa because he figured his ladies might like it. It was a freezing night. They had enough gillyweed to stay underwater for a month.
"Ready," said the excited twins. They liked adventuring with Harry. He made things exciting.
They each ate a wad of gillyweed and moved their masks into place.
Harry hissed at the pain in his neck and the sudden feeling of suffocation. He jumped forward into the water that should have been freezing but felt just right thanks to the gillyweed.
They moved through the dark water, their wands in front of them, glaring with light.
Harry put his wand in the palm of his hand and cast the tracking spell that would lead his bracelet to Hermione and Gabrielle's. The wand spun and pointed down towards the bottom and center of the lake. Harry looked at the twins. They nodded.
The group moved fast through the water, staying out of the weeds but within sight of the bottom.
The giant squid came over to them. Harry froze. He wasn't sure what spell to use against something this size. Thankfully, it wasn't necessary. The squid just chirped out a few bubbles and helped them move towards the mermaid village.
Grindylow lights floated in the weeds below them but the gentle tentacles of the squid ushered them past the dangers that might have otherwise made their progress slow. The giant squid didn't like students in his lake. He'd spent most of his life trying to save students who fell in. He wasn't going to abandon that mission now.
The squid stopped in the center of the mermaid village.
Harry looked over at Fred and George.
"Do you see them?" asked Harry.
The squid floated nearby and gently knocked the angry mermaids back.
"There," said George, pointing to the side. Harry saw the eerie sight of nine people floating lifelessly below the water.
"Angie!" said Fred and George together.
Harry saw Hermione and Gabrielle. He rushed forward and cut them free. They floated with a strange lack of movement that made them look dead. Harry felt a thrill of fear shoot through him.
Hermione's eyes fluttered. They opened suddenly in a panic. She screamed and the last of the air in her lungs shot out into the murky water.
Harry gently slapped a wad of gillyweed in her mouth. He did the same for Gabrielle who was just starting to awaken.
Harry and the twins struggled to get the weed in each of the hostages' mouths in time but they managed. Nine somewhat panicked, somewhat awed people were soon floating in their pajamas beneath the waves.
George looked at Fred. "Didn't even give them the dignity of real clothes," said George.
Fred shook his head. "Let's leave the decoys and go," said Fred.
Harry helped the huddle of people relax for a moment. While Fred and George worked to replace the living hostages with floating blowup dolls. They didn't want to ruin the game tomorrow but they wouldn't leave someone to float down here unprotected all night. It was a close call getting them all dosed with the gillyweed in time.
"Don't worry. The gillyweed will last about an hour. We'll be out of here by then," said Harry, soothingly.
"Who are you?" mouthed a Russian man who was floating beside Hermione.
"I'm Harry Potter. Are you related to one of the competitors in the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry asked.
Everyone nodded. "You've been taken as hostages but we're not leaving you down here. Come on," said Harry when the twins finally swam over.
There were nine floating clowns with vibrant colored clothes and the names of one of the competitors on the tag around their wrists.
"Nice," said Harry, flatly. The twins grinned. "Are we ready to go?"
The twins agreed. They moved over to Angelina and Bill who had both been co-opted as hostages. The group moved through the water straight up towards the surface of the lake. The giant squid wandered away now that they were leaving his territory.
They broke the surface just a few minutes before the gillyweed wore off. They floated with their heads underwater until it wore off.
"Woah!" Harry yelled as the gillyweed wore off of him first. He had the raft already expanded and ready for use. Hermione and Gabrielle grabbed him and pushed him up on the boat. Harry jumped up, trying not to fall in and sink to the bottom of the lake.
The twins popped up next. "Alright, mate?"
Harry was staring into the water at Hermione and Gabrielle.
"I will be as soon as they're all out of that water," said Harry.
Soon enough, Harry's wish came true. Everyone was on the raft, dry and wrapped in a comfy blanket with a cup of hot chocolate as they floated silently back towards the school.
"We'd like to ask all of you to come with us for tonight. We have somewhere comfortable for you to stay until tomorrow morning, when you can join the crowds and make your way to the stands to sit. We just ask that you sit somewhere towards the back of the stands to avoid detection by the judges until after the competition starts," said Harry.
"I woke up and I couldn't breathe," said a scared woman. "What if you hadn't come when you did?"
Harry looked grimly around. "Let's just be glad we were there when we were. Please, follow me quietly," said Harry.
Everyone looked upset at the fact that they might have drowned in a freezing lake in February.
Harry checked the marauders map and quickly led everyone on a slightly circuitous route. They finally made it to the Room of Requirement. Harry turned to Hermione.
"We need a nice hotel maybe," said Harry.
Hermione smiled. She walked back and forth. A stately door appeared in the wall before them.
Harry opened the door and nodded in satisfaction. "This will do. Please, everyone, join us inside."
The door opened into a lovely wide courtyard that was lined with flowers and comfortable swinging benches. There was even a fountain in the center of the courtyard.
Doors lined the courtyard. There were at least 14 doors. Directly across from the entrance to the room was an archway that led to a lovely beach with relaxing surf gently lapping against it. Stars filled the sky above them, as did a lovely full moon.
"Please, go through the archway," said Hermione. Everyone did as she asked.
There was a comfortable sitting room and a long table like the Hogwarts house tables.
"Dobby?" Harry called. The elf popped into the room.
"Yes, Mr. Harry?"
"Could you get us all some snacks and some hot tea? We've had a bit of an ordeal," said Harry.
Dobby popped away to do as he'd been asked. He returned with two extra elves and enough food to fill the table with little finger foods and treats. There were two big pots of special sleepy time tea that the elves of Hogwarts were glad to make for anyone who requested it.
Everyone sat at the table and ate their fill, drinking the tea until they started to yawn uncontrollably.
"I think we should all head to sleep. We'll be staying here with you tonight," said Harry, stubbornly.
Gabrielle agreed. "Oui. We would not leave you alone in unfamiliar territory," said the girl.
"There's a toothbrush, some tooth potion, a clean pair of pajamas, and a robe for tomorrow in each of your rooms. The loo is through the door. There should be a small selection of reading material in your rooms, in case you would like to relax before you sleep," said Hermione.
People started to wander off towards the two stories of rooms on either side of the courtyard.
"Come on, I made a special room for us," said Hermione. She pulled Harry and Gabrielle towards a room of their own.
The bed was certainly big enough for three people. So was the bathtub. Harry's reward for saving his ladies from freezing, murky water was a soapy end to a now fantastic night.
The next morning dawned early. Harry woke comfortably cocooned between his two beautiful ladies. He looked at Hermione and Gabrielle, both facing him and touching him lightly but each had plenty of room to have their own space. Harry was taking notes on how to design a bed that was comfortable for them all.
Gabrielle's eyes fluttered open. She smiled at Harry when she saw the lovesick way he was looking at her and Hermione. Gabrielle's heart soared. She wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve the treasure of both of her loves but she was grateful to Luna and Selene for setting these circumstances in motion. Gabrielle let a little bit of love for the goddess Selene start to grow in her heart.
Hermione sighed and stirred. Harry turned to look at her. Hermione was gifted with the same look of love Gabrielle had seen when she opened her eyes. Hermione leaned up and kissed Harry. Gabrielle thought that was a fabulous idea. Soon, they were taking languid turns, kissing each other. It was the only way to wake up, in Harry's opinion.
Hermione glanced at the clock and sighed. "We need to start moving. Harry, you need to go to the Great Hall. Everyone will be expecting you," said the girl.
Harry looked mulishly angry.
"If you do not go, mon amour, the judges will think you are looking for us. They might send someone to try to find you," said Gabrielle.
Harry sighed grumpily. His good morning was ruined.
"I don't want to go in that stupid lake," said Harry.
"You can't let Fred and George down, mon amour," said Gabrielle gently.
Harry grumped but he got up and started getting ready. His ladies lingered in bed, watching the show.
Harry turned in his basilisk hide vest and trousers. They were comfortable to swim in and would protect Harry from trouble. His ladies groaned at his otherwise naked arms and chest. The basilisk hide was molded to his muscular physique. The girls took hands and promised their own practice session after Harry was gone.
Harry looked at his strong, capable girls and almost had a heart attack when he remembered them floating in that dark, cold water.
"I'll be done in half an hour, tops," said Harry, desperate to keep his ladies safe.
"Kingsley will be with us," said Hermione.
"Moody will be angry we went to save you without him," said Harry.
"Maybe, but he didn't have the proper equipment to join you," said Hermione, reasonably.
Harry snorted. "He won't care about that. He's already grumpy about me going in the lake during the tournament without him."
"Then find a way to make it up to him," said Gabrielle with a grin.
Harry thought about it. "I'll come up with something," he said.
"I'm sure you will, my love," said Hermione. She only used pet names when they were alone.
Harry looked determinedly back. "I swear it." With that, he kissed his ladies one more time and left the room.
Fred and George were already down in the courtyard, sitting with Angelina, drinking a cuppa and fiddling with some utility belts.
"What are those for?" asked Harry.
Fred and George looked up with a grin. "Harrykins!" said Fred.
"Our brother from another mother," said George.
"Or brother to our other brother?" said Fred.
"If you'd druther, brother," said George.
Harry shook his head. Angelina groaned. "It's too early. Please!"
The twins grinned but stopped just the same. Angelina sighed in relief.
"What are you doing?" asked Harry.
"Getting a few things ready. We expect it won't be such a smooth, easy swim to the finish line this time," said George.
"We wanted to prepare," said Fred. "Don't worry; we didn't leave you out."
Fred put a final rune on a belt and handed it to Harry.
"What's in this?" asked Harry.
"The most important thing is what's outside it," said George.
"We got some ideas from the trip to the dive shop with Hermione," said Fred.
"We built a pressure charm into the belt, all the way around," said George.
"We should shoot off like rockets under there," said Fred.
"Couldn't we just use our brooms under water?" asked Harry.
Fred and George looked at each other in consideration.
"We could just summon our brooms and fly through the water," said George.
"The belts would still help," said Fred.
"I know I'd feel better on my broom than just swimming. Do you reckon we can hold a broom with webbed hands?" asked Harry.
"We can hold a wand, can't we?" asked Fred.
"We certainly can," said Harry. Harry called for Dobby. "Dobby?"
The elf popped in the courtyard. "Yes, Mr. Harry?"
"Could you get our brooms for us, please?" asked Harry.
Dobby popped away and was back in less than five minutes with all their brooms. Harry looked at Fred and George's brooms sideways. Their brooms were raggedy messes. George's broom was missing most of the bristles. Fred's handle was spellotaped from a deep crack.
"Let me just, do something, and don't be weird about it?" asked Harry.
The twins looked confused. Harry turned to Dobby. "Please go to Diagon Alley and buy two Clean Sweep Streak 1000s. Get my money bag. There should be enough," said Harry.
"You're buying us new brooms?" asked Fred.
Harry looked stubborn. "You gave me a belt with stuff in it," said Harry. The twins grinned.
They glomped onto Harry and danced him around the courtyard.
"You're our best brother!" they cried together. Angelina beamed at them. She had a Lightning DC100. It was the best broom for a chaser on the market. She was happy her boyfriends would have their own nice brooms. The Clean Sweep Streak was a great series of brooms. They were lightning fast and changed direction on a dime. These were musts for a beater.
Dobby was back in 15 minutes with two long packages. The twins didn't waste time. They explained Harry's belt to him while they waited. Fred and George accepted a package each. Surprisingly, they carefully opened the boxes, relishing the feeling of having brand new brooms.
They reverently pulled out the polished walnut handles and the sleek rowan bristles. The brooms were engraved with their names and had a numbered certificate. The twins hopped on the brooms and did a few tight laps. They stopped and jumped off, huge grins on their faces.
"These will do," said George.
"We love you forever, Harry!" cried Fred. The twins glomped him and gave him big, wet grandma kisses on the sides of his face. Harry pushed them off and wiped the spit off his face.
"No thanks needed. Really," said a disgusted Harry. The twins and Angelina laughed.
The twins showed Harry an empty compartment on his belt that they easily charmed to be large enough to hold his broom. They did the same to their own belts and turned to Harry.
"Ready partner?" asked George.
"I just want to get this over with," said a disgruntled Harry.
The twins kissed Angelina for luck and pulled Harry between them out of the Room of Requirement.
They went down the stairs to the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. A few people surprised them with an appearance.
Harry sat at his seat and looked around, too upset after seeing his ladies in danger last night to eat. He saw someone sitting up at the head table. Harry gasped.
"Papa! Mama!" cried Harry. Fred and George turned to look up at the head table. Sure enough, Jean Claude and Julia were sitting with a contingent of aurors at their backs. Harry stood to go see them when someone else spoke up.
"Hey," said a timid voice. The twins and Harry looked to see who was speaking. It was Ginny.
"Ginny! What are you doing here?" asked Fred.
"I'm just getting my makeup homework. They're going to let me make up my work and start fresh next year," said Ginny.
"That's good, Ginny. How are you?" asked Harry. He was concerned for her but he was also glad there was a table and the twins between himself and her.
"Harry, I… I just wanted to apologize. To you and to Hermione and Gabrielle. I don't know what happened. My delusions… I knew they weren't real but that didn't matter. My mind made them real. I can't believe I acted that way. I can't believe I truly believed we were to be married. I don't expect you to forgive me but I want you to know I am sorry for the trouble I caused. I don't condone what Ron's been up to either," said Ginny sincerely.
Harry studied her face. "Thank you Ginny. I'll tell Hermione and Gabrielle what you said. I'm glad you're doing better. I accept your apology. I just want you to be well."
Ginny smiled tentatively. "I want that, too. Good luck today, all of you. I'll be sitting with mum and dad, rooting for you."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement. He didn't want to be too encouraging and give her hope that wasn't there.
Ginny's smile dimmed a bit but she nodded to herself and turned to leave.
"She looks better," said George as she walked away.
"She does," said Fred.
"I hope she is. I think it'll be good for her that I won't be here next year," said Harry, quietly.
The twins looked sympathetically back. "I hate to say it, mate, but you might be right."
"Don't worry, you won't have to be without us for long," said Fred with a wink.
"We have a merry prank ready for the end of the year," said George with a grin.
"I can't wait," said Harry, sarcastically. The twins cackled and finished their breakfast.
Harry stood up and approached the head table.
"Father, Mother," Harry said, formally bowing to the two important people as he knew was polite. Jean Claude smiled at Harry.
"Son. It is good to see you," said Jean Claude.
"It's a wonderful surprise to see you all. You didn't let us know you were coming," Harry said.
Julia laughed, her mirth a beautiful, tinkling sound. Harry couldn't help but smile at the sound.
"We wanted to surprise you, fils. We also weren't sure if we would be able to make it," said Julia.
Jean Claude looked neutral but his side eye shot to Fudge, who came to represent the Ministry himself after the debacle that was Dolores Umbridge. Fudge gave Harry a frown but he refused to look directly at Jean Claude.
Jean Claude huffed in humor and annoyance.
"We almost weren't allowed entry into the country for the event," said Jean Claude. "Thankfully, I had foreseen a possible problem and worked through diplomatic channels in the ICW to gain access to my own students and my family."
Dumbledore walked in, his eyes twinkling as he took his seat in the center of the table. He looked to be enjoying Fudge's flustered feathers.
"Yes, well. It doesn't surprise me," said a frowning Harry as he looked at the Ministry contingent. Harry noticed Guilia Edgecombe sitting with the Minister, giving Harry a look that could boil a chicken, it was so hot and angry.
Jean Claude noticed the same. He nodded sagely.
"Would you like a tour after the event?" Harry asked.
"We'd be glad to accept such an invitation. It will be good to spend time with you all, fils," said Julia with a gentle smile.
Snape heard. He bared his teeth and hoped he could interrupt the fun.
Harry went back to his seat but he was too nervous to eat. He wasn't that worried about going into the lake, even if he did have to fight. He was nervous about being broadcast to all of the spectators at the tournament. They had a special projection screen that showed all of the teens and what they were doing during the event. Harry scowled at the giant screens and the wizarding wireless and other reporters that would be present. Harry hated reporters.
Dumbledore stood at the front of the room.
"Competitors, please prepare to head down to the competition area near the Black Lake as soon as you can. Students, the event will start in one hour," said Albus.
Harry jumped to his feet. The twins followed with jolly smiles on their lips. They made their way down to the lake. Soon, all of the competitors and their coaches had joined them. Harry's coaches were all gone. Bill was hiding away and a supposed hostage. Remus and Sirius were in France. Moody was standing behind Harry with a scowl on his beautiful face.
"Wait for me, boy. I wasted half an hour waiting for you to get your lazy arse out of bed before I realized you weren't in it! How am I supposed to guard you when you run off without me?" asked Moody. He was scowling at Igor Karkaroff. Karkaroff was watching the handsome scowling man with a strange look on his face. He couldn't quite place where he knew this scowling man from.
"Sorry, Moody. We got up to something and I forgot to call you in. I'll explain when I get back," said Harry.
"Kingsley couldn't find your ladies, either," said Moody.
Harry looked around. The youngest seeker in a century quickly spotted his ladies.
"There," said Harry. "Four o'clock, very back row in the Gryffindor stands."
"I see'em," said Moody. He signaled at Kingsley and gave him the sign so he could find them. Kingsley turned his head and made a beeline for the ladies. Harry relaxed a bit to see it. His enemies would love to get their hands on his fiances.
"I hate that you're going in the water without me," said an angry sounding Moody. It was how he fretted.
"Don't worry. We're going to be in and out," said Harry.
"I hope so, lad. With you, hardly anything goes to plan," said the man.
Harry scowled at the correctness of that statement.
The judges arrived and the students and spectators settled in the stands. The press buzzed around but left the competitors alone thanks to the auror presence. Madam Bones wasn't taking any chances today. She had six aurors on hand.
Harry waited with his fellows at the edge of the lake. Finally, Ludo Bagman's voice rang out.
"Ladies and gentlewizards, it's time for the show! This is the second task of the Triwizard Tournament of 1994-1995!" cried the man. The crowd cheered.
Ludo gave a quick recap of the previous task and the points totals so far. He reminded everyone of the team members for each school. He said the final name with relish.
"... and finally, we have Harry Potter! Potter outflew a dragon during the last task. What will he do with the clue given to him from the dragon's nest? Let's review," said Ludo. Ludo pointed at the lake. Four merpeople floated to the surface and sang a haunting melody through what was basically a glass of water wrapped around their heads.
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."
Everyone gasped and cheered to hear the deadly sounding poem. Harry scowled. His ladies almost did die. So did all of those other people. What if Harry hadn't made it in time? They awoke a little over an hour after they disappeared.
"Competitors, prepare yourselves for the blast!" cried Ludo.
Harry waited for the sound of the blast before he pulled his gillyweed out of one of the compartments. He chewed while he dug out his dive helmet and his broom.
"Potter's using his broom again! It's a trick we've seen before but will it be as effective in the water?" asked Ludo.
Harry suddenly gasped for breath. He jumped in the water and felt immediate relief from the feeling of suffocation. He looked to the side. Fleur and her teammates were swimming forward with sure strokes and bubblehead charms. To his other side, Viktor Krum and his teammates were transformed into beings that were half human, half shark. Harry shook his head at the thought of keeping human legs and accepting a shark head. It made no sense.
Harry jumped on his broom and looked at Fred and George. "Ready?"
"Let's go," said the twins as one. They all tapped their belts and bubbles shot out like mad all around them. Their brooms shot forward, familiar and easy to control, even at fast speeds.
They shot through the water, passing up their competitors and shooting off through murky depths.
They went quickly towards the bottom of the lake but were soon under attack from a horde of grindylow.
They did barrel rolls and twisted away from the long, deadly fingers of the vicious beasts. A few spells to repel the things and they were back on their way. Suddenly, a herd of hippocampus came streaming towards them. The giant animals with the head of a horse and the tail of a fish were stampeding towards them.
"Dive!" Harry shouted.
They dove low and laid across their brooms. The herd stampeded over them.
They kept going until they ran smack dab into a school of plimpies. The fish with long arms that attached to you and nibbled on your toes, fingers, and nose were an annoyance more than a deadly danger. The death eaters that found them next were not.
A spell shot by Harry's head. He rolled and looked behind him, his wand held aloft for light. Another arc of spell light flew towards him.
"Duck!" Harry shouted. The twins ducked and rolled. They looked behind them and saw the group of three death eaters swimming towards them.
Harry growled and whipped his wand to cast expelliarmus. The death eaters scattered.
The twins cast stunning charms at the bastards, intending to leave them to drown.
Harry cast expelliarmus again, this time catching one of the bastards on the chin. The man with a bubble head charm and a set of charmed flippers sank into the clutches of the grindylow in the seabed below.
Harry turned to fight the other two. The twins were flying literal circles around the men, creating a whirlpool that threw the swimming death eaters off course, pushing them right in the path of the returning hippocampus.
"Loop!" Harry cried as the massive animals bore down on them. The twins and Harry made a fast, hard loop, coming up and around behind the herd. The death eaters weren't so lucky. They were battered and bloodied unconscious from the stampeding forehooves.
"Let's go," said Harry. He didn't care if the death eaters lived or died. He merely summoned their masks and looked at their faces. He shook his head. Theodore Nott, his father Adrian, and a death eater named Avery. Harry cast a parting shot to make the bastards float and turned to continue the race.
They flew quickly towards the merpeople village and slammed to a stop at the clowns with their names on them. They didn't know that the sight of the clown dummies instead of the living people the judges had placed under those icy waves was causing an uproar. The real hostages started to emerge, many of them angry that they'd been placed in danger, telling the story of awakening after one hour, their lives almost forfeit because of someone's faulty spell casting.
Fred grinned at Harry. "Time for our first trick," he said.
"Hold your clown and pull the tag around its wrist," said George.
"Hold on tight!" said Fred.
Harry looked wary but did as they asked.
The clown quickly inflated, shooting Harry up through the water and out to fly above the lake. Harry shouted at the sudden ascent. The twins popped up right behind him. They cackled.
"Now, use your broom to fly towards the dock," said Fred.
"Remember to empty your remaining two compartments over the crowd," said George.
Harry sighed but agreed. The twins had done the hard work of figuring out the clue, maybe Harry could do the easy work of pranking a bunch of innocent people.
They flew up fast to the dock and circled over the crowd once, dragging their bobbing and dancing clowns.
They flew over the crowd and turned upside down, the contents of their last two utility belt compartments flying out. One compartment was full of order forms. The other was full of tiny harmless prank vials that fell out and broke on people all over the crowd. People with wild, colorful swirls of cotton for hair appeared next to people speaking backwards and people who had turned into giant canaries. It was pure insanity. The twins cackled and Harry laughed. They landed on the dock with a flourish.
"Potter has pranked the crowd," squeaked the voice of Ludo Bagman. "The products come from an establishment called Marauding Weasley Magical Mischief. It's pure chaos!" said Ludo.
Harry laughed to see it. The twins bowed and sonorused their voice. "Anyone who uses the code word, clown, gets 10% off their first purchase!" cried the twins.
People cheered all over. Those who had been pranked all got an extra 10% off coupon when the prank ended. People cheered and laughed all over.
The Bulgarian team popped out of the water, They couldn't get the transfiguration to end. Madame Pomfrey ran forward and helped. They climbed out, their clowns bobbing in the water.
"What's that?" asked someone. Madame Bones looked out in the water. She saw three floating bodies. People started to cry out in fear. Madame Bones and two aurors took a fast boat out to pull in the bodies. They popped off quickly to Saint Mungo's.
"Was that the Beauxbatons team?" asked Ludo Bagman. Just then, three heads popped out of the water. Their bubble head charm burst as they pushed the colorful clowns over to the docks. Fleur and her teammates climbed out of the water.
"That's all of them!" said Ludo. "Let us take just a few moments for the scoring."
The judges conferred and argued. Finally, after almost 20 minutes, the judges made the high sign.
"Finally!" called Ludo. "The suspense was too much, even if the show was entertaining." The Weasley twins decided to take advantage of the captive audience to showcase a few more tricks and pranks. Harry stayed far back but laughed along with everyone else. The judges passed the scores over to Ludo.
"First place is Hogwarts with 28 points! Second place is Durmstrang with 26 points. That leaves Beauxbatons in third place with 24 points. That leaves the final rankings as Hogwarts in first place with 56 points; Durmstrang in second place with 51 points; and Beauxbatons in third place with 50 points! Good show everyone! Join us for the third task on June 3, 2024!" Ludo cried. Everyone cheered and the crowd started to move. Hermione and Gabrielle ran up to Harry with Kingsley at their back.
Moody had his eyes peeled for more trouble. No one else might have noticed the quick little death eater battle that took place at the same time the French contingent were grabbed by the grindylows but Moody did. He saw the floating bodies a good five minutes before anyone else. He just didn't bother to tell anyone. He didn't work for the aurors anymore.
"Harry!" cried the girls as one. Harry spun around and caught them both, just as the other hostages started to pour onto the stage. Harry hugged and kissed them both, checking them over to make sure they were in good health. Julia and Jean Claude were congratulating the French team before they made their way over to Harry's group.
"Are you alright?" asked Hermione.
"We saw the battle, though no one else seems to have noticed," said Gabrielle, quietly.
"Good. I don't want or need the credit for that," said Harry. Jean Claude and Julia arrived.
"Are you alright son?" asked Jean Claude. He had certainly noticed the death eater battle. Julia was taking it in turns to hug and kiss each person.
"What happened?" asked Hermione, as Julia let go of her.
"Nott and his father attacked us. Another death eater, too. We fought them off but the grindylow and the hippocampus got them," said Harry. "I floated them towards the surface when I could," he shrugged.
"You did more than I would have done," said Moody in a sexy growl. Several ladies nearby giggled. Moody gave them the stink eye and they moved along.
Madam Bones walked back in the clearing. She walked over to Harry's group, who were literally surrounded by Hogwarts students. Only Moody's barrier kept them back.
"Right. Move along," said Madame Bones to the students.
"Will there be another party?" called a student.
"Sure. Meet us in the same place at the same time," called Fred.
"Spread the word," said George.
Students cheered all over the place as word spread. They finally started to move along.
"Let's go. I need a quick shower and I want to spend time with Mother and Father before I do any partying," said Harry.
They walked towards the castle while someone watched them go with anger. Draco Malfoy slipped back around the posts and kept watch, like he'd been ordered to do.
Harry led the way to his dorms and down into his trunk. Everyone kept Jean Claude and Julia company while Harry and the twins had a nice hot bath. Harry stumbled out of the tub and back downstairs with a troubled heart. Would the death eaters ever stop coming for him? How could he stop them, too?
Harry arrived in his sitting room for a lovely surprise. His entire family was sitting in the sitting room, including his two precious boys. Harry ran forward and picked up the giggling almost six month old babies.
"Julius! Jameson! What are you doing here?" asked Harry.
Jean Claude and Julia smiled. Hermione and Gabrielle just handed over the babies when Harry took his seat. He buried his face in their little baby necks and chuckled wetly. His emotions were overflowing with his children back in his arms after two months apart.
"We knew your trunk was safe. We have a snuff box that they traveled within. We will make sure they get safely home again," said Jean Claude.
Sirius laughed. "It's an awesome prank, Prongslet. No one suspected a thing!"
"Yes, well, let's just hope they don't suspect anything before we leave," said Remus. He couldn't help but worry about the dangerous stunt, even though Harry's reaction to seeing his son's was a beautiful sight to behold.
"Dadadadada! Lalalalala!" cried the boys. They wouldn't let go of their father's robes.
"I love you too, lads," said Harry with tears in his smiling eyes.
The group spent the next hour relaxing in Harry's trunk, watching the father spend special time with his precious boys. The lads started to yawn as 8pm approached. It was their usual bedtime. Harry cuddled them close. They started to slip off to sleep.
"I guess it's time to tuck them in," said a disappointed Harry.
The boys whinged a bit when Harry stood.
Harry, Hermione, and Gabrielle took the boys into the snuff box, which was set up like a nursery with a comfortable sofa inside. Harry cuddled his boys while Hermione and Gabrielle sang a beautiful song in German for them both.
"Da loves you both. You've got to go back with Grammie and Pop Pop for a little while longer but Da will see you soon. I love you so much," said the young father as he cuddled his sons. The boys clung to Harry until their little hands relaxed in sleep. The girls each took a baby and tucked them into bed. Harry kissed them both and turned to see Dan and Emma standing behind them. Emma hugged him and Dan slapped a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll keep an eye on them for you, Harry. You'll see them again next month when you do the ritual. Then, it's just nine short weeks until you'll be home again," said Emma, soothingly. Harry nodded his head from where it was buried in her shoulder. He sniffled and stood back.
"Keep your eyes on the prize, son. Success is at your fingertips," said Dan.
Harry sighed and nodded. He hugged each of the Grangers and kissed his boys one more time before he left the snuff box.
When Harry, Hermione, and Gabrielle were out of the snuff box and Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Regulus had joined the Grangers once more inside, Jean Claude put the snuff box away in his breast pocket.
"Do you want to see the Chamber of Secrets before you go?" asked Bill.
"We'd love to," agreed Julia. She took Harry's hand and pulled him close. Harry let her whisper in his ear as they walked out of Gryffindor Tower.
Harry felt better by the time they arrived at the second floor girls' loo. The twins were wise enough to get permission for this party directly from Dumbledore himself. It was a sanctioned event with permission to last until midnight. The rest of the school and the visiting students were starting to arrive as Harry led his group down the stairs.
They came out into the Chamber and Julia looked up and gasped in fear.
Jean Claude looked up to see what had caught her attention. He gasped in amazement at what he saw.
"Is that your kill?" asked Jean Claude. Harry looked up and scowled.
"It is," Harry said. He couldn't help but rub his forearm as he looked at the giant thing.
"Fils, that beast could have swallowed you whole!" cried Julia.
Jean Claude was amazed by the size of the skeleton. "We should have this moved to your enclave in France."
"You think so?" asked Harry.
"Definitely," said Jean Claude and Bill at the same time.
"Maybe," said Harry, noncommittally.
"You deserve the honor of your trophy," said Jean Claude.
Harry sighed. "I'd rather just forget it ever happened."
Jean Claude put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "But it did happen, son. Nothing will change that."
"I guess that's true," Harry said. Jean Claud patted his shoulder.
Jean Claude and Julia stayed for an hour or so of the party, spending time with Harry's group and the French team. It was a good time had by all until Jean Claude stood.
"We will see you anon, son. Please take care of one another until you return to us," said the man.
Harry stood and looked at Jean Claude with admiration. "I swear it shall be so, father."
Julia kissed them all and the French contingent gathered around their portkeys and disappeared.