Chapter 47

"What did you do with the elf, Severus?"

Severus only had to measure the blue eyes for the briefest instant to decide that it would be pointless to pretend not to understand the question. He had known that Dumbledore suspecting him was a possibility, especially since Dobby's interference had not gone unnoticed. Minerva had already told him about the warning Potter had received, and it was a given that the boy had been interrogated. Of course Potter could have only incriminated Dobby, and without the elf's testimony all Dumbledore knew for certain was that Severus had asked about the crazy creature two months ago, but Severus knew that Dumbledore often acted on his guesses as if they were certainties. And he would rather face the consequences of the old man knowing for sure than deal with a suspicious Dumbledore.

He sighed. At least this way he could do some damage control.

"The elf is dead," he confessed.

It would always be a mystery to Severus how such a cold and calculating man as Albus Dumbledore could care so much about a simple house-elf. The grief in those old eyes was real, and yet this was the same man who gave a damn about Severus dying a horrible death at the Dark Lord's hands.

"Before you give free rein to your righteous indignation," he said raising both his arms in a placating gesture, "let me remind you that the creature was an aberration that would have had to be reported and put down eventually."

Dumbledore's sadness was quickly giving place to anger and disappointment. His eyes looked bluer and colder than ever, only part of that effect due to the Goblet's flames.

"Dobby was harmless," he said in a hard tone. "Not a disposable creature for you to use and discard at your convenience."

"He was a menace," argued Severus. "Much more so after what happened tonight. Excuse me for making sure the elf didn't have a chance to try to help again on his own accord or at Potter's request."

"I believe Dobby would not have done anything if you had not put the idea in his head," said Dumbledore with a mixture of sadness and anger in his eyes. "I also think he could have been persuaded to not do anything else."

"Maybe so," conceded Severus. "The way I saw it, keeping him alive and free was too risky."

"Now you are concerned about the risk? You knew how dangerous it could be to defy the Goblet of Fire, Severus, and yet you chose to risk all the champions' and judges' lives with your interference."

"I didn't think it would count as interference," lied Severus, glancing at the Goblet and wishing the old man would put the damned thing away. He didn't think the object could listen, but it clearly was powerfully aware of most everything related to the Tournament or the champions. Did it know about Severus' Vow? Could the evil thing recognize him as a sworn enemy? "I simply saw an opportunity to assist Potter, and I took it. Everyone is constantly trying to help the champions, I just happened to find a way that worked."

"You would not have tried that if you had not had some reason to think it might work. You hoped to fight the Goblet's enchantment with Dobby's anomaly, Severus, so you can't deny you knew it might count as interference." Dumbledore sounded really cross, Severus didn't remember the last time he had used that tone with him. "And you must have known it could have easily ended in disaster. Harry was lucky to receive only a warning."

"I only knew that Potter needed help," said Severus. "I thought at worst the Goblet would simply stop Dobby. I understand now that it was extremely dangerous, but it's already done and it worked. I would have thought you would be pleased that now the boy has a chance of surviving the task."

"That is besides the point."

"No, that is precisely the point," argued Severus. "To keep Potter alive."

"Not at the cost of everyone else's lives," objected Dumbledore coldly. "Did you even think about the possible consequences of what you did, Severus? I know you care about Harry. I care too. But he's not the only person in the world. Interfering with the Goblet not only could have cost his life, but also mine, and those of all the other judges and champions. In the current situation, with Lord Voldemort already working in the shadows, the political chaos that such a general loss would have caused would have had much more serious consequences than the loss of Harry Potter alone."

Severus stared at the Headmaster for a long moment.

"That is enlightening," he finally said, just as coldly. "I was under the impression that Potter's life was a priority, considering that he is supposed to defeat the Dark Lord. I had assumed at least you would be fine with dying for your Golden Boy."

"I would appreciate if you didn't make assumptions about me, Severus," said Dumbledore sharply. "And if you didn't take the liberty to decide for me what is worth risking my life for. I would also like you to remember that I am the person keeping you out of Azkaban, and that the fact that I expect you to maintain a Death Eater cover doesn't mean that you have my leave to behave like a Death Eater at all times. I certainly expect you not to act behind my back nor to risk or take any lives without my knowledge and permission."

Well, now Severus definitely wasn't looking forward to the day when Dumbledore learned about the Unbreakable Vow.

"I was only trying to help," he insisted. "I didn't expect the Goblet to react that way, I honestly thought that the risk for interference that you had mentioned required direct contact with the object. I don't think I would have risked using Dobby if I had thought Potter might die because of it, although I admit I probably wouldn't have cared about you and the others dying as a result. I realized how dangerous it had been when I felt the Goblet's reaction, which is why I immediately put down the elf. All I can say now is that it worked, so I can't regret it." He hesitated. "Assuming you didn't confiscate the Gillyweed."

Dumbledore was piercing him with a penetrating look that had Severus' mind on edge and heavily guarded against mental intrusion. It was obvious that the old man wished to use Legilimency on him more than ever before. How absurd was it that it wasn't anything related to him being a Death Eater what was causing such mistrust?

"I will not confiscate it," said Dumbledore finally. "But I cannot keep you in Hogwarts if I cannot trust you not to try to interfere again, Severus."

"The Goblet made its point, and you made yours," said Severus. "The elf is gone, in any case, and after tonight I would not try anything else even if I had any other ideas."

They held each other's gaze for another long minute, until Dumbledore slowly nodded. No doubt he would join Moody in watching Severus like a hawk from now on, but he seemed to have decided that he wasn't an immediate threat of interference. Or perhaps he had just decided to take the risk, since he still needed Severus as spy, and as Potions Master. Not to mention that if he sent him away now, after having vouched for him against the entire Ministry only last month, his reputation would be completely ruined.

"No more going behind my back, Severus," he warned, eyes cold and hard. "Now please leave."

Severus turned around the recent conversation inside his head for a long time that night, in the end deciding that it had gone as well as it could have gone. At least Dumbledore didn't seem to suspect him for any other cases of interference, although now that he was in a mistrustful mood he might begin to review Severus' behaviour of the past few months and come up with new suspicions. The way Potter had survived the dragon without a single injury, in particular, pretty much screamed external interference. Dumbledore probably hadn't considered the possibility at the time simply because it was supposed to be impossible, but he might consider it now.

For the moment, however, Severus still held his position in Hogwarts and Potter would be allowed to keep the Gillyweed, so he supposed his last attempt to help could be considered a success even though he was still internally shaking at how close it had been to end in disaster.

Of course he had taken the same risk the night of the Vow, knowing that Potter and Dumbledore could drop dead as a consequence, but tonight's magical reaction made the risk much more real.

It definitely made him hesitant to attempt any further interference.

The day before the second task was tense, to say the least. By breakfast everyone inside the castle seemed to know that Harry Potter had received a warning for cheating, and so the general fear quickly turned to resentment towards the youngest champion. 'Potter stinks' badges could be seen even in the Gryffindor table, and Miss Delacour was glaring at the boy in such a murderous way that Severus began to fear she might be a serious threat.

Igor and Maxime were also visibly furious, although their anger seemed to be directed mostly at Dumbledore, who on his part was pretending everything was fine and ignoring his co-Heads completely. Severus was receiving a normal treatment, but he could feel the coldness and mistrust radiating from the Headmaster, as well as the silent warning.

As to Minerva, she was doing her best to act normally and not give away that she had been just as involved in last night's events as Severus. She wasn't such a good actress as one could wish, but luckily everyone knew she was a nervous person constantly stressed out about Potter, and she was hardly the only member of staff tense today, so her anxiety wasn't raising any suspicions. Severus knew the most prudent course of action would be to obliviate Minerva before Dumbledore could suspect her and extract the entire truth from her mind, but he still couldn't bring himself to do that. He told himself it was because Minerva was useful as an ally in his fight against the Goblet, but deep down he knew it was just because it eased his own anxiety in some degree to have an accomplice. And, well, perhaps he was hesitant to mess with such a brilliant mind.

So instead of obliviating her he had told her that Dumbledore knew about his interference with Dobby and that they must be extra careful in their interactions from now on. He didn't give her all the details of his conversation with the Headmaster, however, since she had only agreed to help him because she had believed that Dumbledore would be willing to sacrifice his own life for Potter, and it was better is she kept believing that even if apparently it wasn't the case.

On the bright side, it looked like the Potter-Krum alliance was still in place, or at least Krum was still disregarding Igor's angry looks and sitting next to Potter in the Gryffindor table. The two champions spent most of their breakfast time whispering in a secretive way, and then they left together affecting an air of obliviousness to the general disapproval. Of course it was obvious that Potter still cared a great deal about people's opinions, but Krum's indifferent attitude was beginning to rub on him.

Seeing Potter that day was conflicting for Severus. He had only ever aimed to keep the brat alive, not to make him feel better, but in this occasion it was simply impossible to ignore that having received help had lifted a huge burden off the boy's shoulders. Despite still being a frightened ball of nerves, Lily's son was visibly relieved and maybe even hopeful, and Severus wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he —through Dobby— had done that.

It wasn't the same to just keep the boy alive than to give him peace of mind, or hope, or calm or anything positive at all. Severus had not signed off for that, and part of him wished the boy could reach the second task just as miserable and desperate as he had been before the first one, not benefiting from Severus' protection in any way except for his continued existence. Even though reaching the task prepared and calm was actually better in terms of survival.

His only comfort was that Potter didn't know who had really helped him, so there was no risk of him looking at Severus the way he had looked at him the night of the Vow. Still, insulting the brat during Potions class that day —it would have been suspicious if he didn't comment on Potter's cheating— felt more forced than ever, and even his well-deserved, harsh remarks about the boy's poor potions technique came out half-hearted.

Perhaps he was still experiencing weakening side-effects after last night's Dark Magic.

Something must be seriously wrong with him, indeed, because when after class Potter stayed behind to hand in the thousand lines for stupidity (that Severus had completely forgotten at this point) he didn't have anything scathing to say to the boy.

All too soon, Severus was standing at the lake's shore waiting for yet another deadly task to begin. He would very much rather be repeatedly burned and spiked again by a dragon than to just stand aside and watch while Potter fended for himself, but to his unbearable anxiety this time he didn't have any intention of interfering during the task.

He hadn't even tried to conceal his presence, since he lately had the impression that Moody always knew where he was even when he had a notice-me-not-charm up around him, and besides now Dumbledore no doubt would want to make sure he knew where Severus was at all times. Disillusionment and notice-me-not charms were only useful if nobody was looking too closely for magical means of concealment.

So here he was, simply standing at a side and watching, hoping that Potter had enough tools to handle the task on his own. Severus felt reasonably confident that he did, judging by Irma's reports and his own observations. Or at least it had seemed that a breathing method for the younger champion had been the only critical shortfall in the allies' strategy.

And the boy looked calm, a world of difference from the nervous wreak he had been when he had walked into the dragon's enclosure. Although he also looked extremely worried and was scanning the crowd as if looking for someone, a gesture mirrored by Krum and Diggory. What was that about?

It became clear a moment later, when Bagman began explaining what the task consisted on. Severus had assumed that the champions would have to retrieve another object from the merpeople, perhaps a clue to the third task, but it sounded like they would have to retrieve something personal instead.

Hostages, realized Severus. He could see the same realization in other people's faces, and also the horror that came with it. Of course most students were still clueless, but the members of staff had quickly understood and were wearing mixed expressions of concern, indignation and sorrow. Minerva, Pomona and Filius were now also scanning the crowd, and Severus did the same. All the Weasleys were there, huddled together in the midst of the Gryffindor mass, Longbottom not so far away. Granger was conspicuously absent, however, which was no doubt why Potter looked so concerned.

Bagman was further explaining that the four champions would perform the task at the same time, not in turns, and that it would only conclude when what had been taken from them was safely back on shore or when the hour was up. He didn't say what would happen when the time ran out, but it was easy to guess: one way or another, at ten sharp there would no longer be any hostage to rescue at the bottom of the lake.

Did that mean that it was an option for the champions to simply sit at the water edge for an hour without necessarily having to engage in anything dangerous? Not that Severus had any hope that Potter would even consider to let his hostage die, of course. The task actually seemed cut out especially for him and his annoying hero complex.

It made Severus anxious, however, to know that there was a time limit (which, by the way, explained why all four champions had been researching propelling and time-measuring charms). He didn't care at all if the hostages were slaughtered, but what if Potter reached them too close to the deadline and got caught up in the slaughter?

At least one thing was certain: Potter would not lack motivation. Severus thought —and hoped— that he might even be willing to kill a few mermaids if it was to rescue someone else.

At five to nine the judges began positioning the champions along the bank, spacing them at intervals of ten feet. Potter had already stripped to his swimming trunks —the ones that Severus had bought him— which was causing laughter and jeering from the Slytherin side of the stands. Severus could see what they were about, since the boy looked like an out-of-place midget next to his fellow champions, but on his part he was suddenly concerned at the sight. Had the brat always been this scrawny? Had he lost weight recently? Was he eating well?

He shook his head to clear it from his complete lack of prioritization. Potter might not come out of the lake alive, it hardly mattered right now whether he was underweight. And in any case the boy looked healthy enough, he probably had just had a growth spurt and had still to compensate in transverse directions.

Besides, Severus refused to be forced by his Vow to worry about the brat's eating habits. Better not to even think about it.

"WELL, ALL OUR CHAMPIONS ARE READY FOR THE SECOND TASK, WHICH WILL START ON MY WHISTLE," announced Bagman in an amplified voice, excited blue eyes fixed on his pocket watch. "THEY HAVE PRECISELY AN HOUR TO RECOVER WHAT HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM THEM. ON THE COUNT OF THREE, THEN. ONE... TWO... THREE!

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; Severus fought a powerful urge to snatch the boy and prevent him from even putting a toe in the water.

Not that Potter intended to touch the water yet, apparently. While Diggory and Delacour quickly cast Bubble-Head charms on their heads and ran into the water, Potter and Krum remained still and raised their wands in the same direction. The incantations couldn't be heard over the exclamations of the crowd, but they must have summoned the Gillyweed, and to Severus' disbelief —and no doubt Igor's indignation— it seemed that both champions' summoned objects had been hiding inside the Durmstrang Ship.

To everyone's surprize —although it wasn't really surprizing, considering who these two champions were—, what came soaring through the air was a pair of brooms. Potter and Krum jumped onto them in a synchronized movement before the brooms had completely stopped beside their owners, and they were already off when Potter caught something else —probably the Gillyweed— in the air.

And then the allies were racing over the lake shoulder to shoulder while the crowd went wild behind them.

"HAVE YOU SEEN THAT?" was exclaiming Bagman. "I WOULD BET NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT THERE WAS SUCH A DRAMATIC BEGINNING IN A TASK. AND IT SEEMS THAT MR. POTTER CAN FLY JUST AS WELL AS MR. KRUM, HE'S EVEN OUTRACING HIM IF MY EYES DON'T FAIL ME!"

Severus had to reluctantly admit that, indeed, Potter flew at least as well as Krum. It didn't annoy him half as much as usual, however, since for once the brat was using his skill for something that wasn't —merely— showing off. And it was definitely a good idea —no doubt Krum's— to fly most of the way over the lake, since that would likely spare them potential confrontations with Grindylows and would take them to the hostages much faster.

He also had to admit that the allies' departure had been impressive. It was hard to tell if they had done it on purpose, but there had been a message there. No one could have missed the public display of unity, and Igor definitely could not have missed the provocation.

Someone had supplied Bagman with a pair of Omnioculars, and now the man was informing the public that the two flying champions had come to a stop in the distance and seemed to be casting spells on themselves. A minute later everyone saw the two tiny figures dropping from their brooms and disappearing under the water.

After that unexpected and exciting beginning, people grew bored very quickly. And anxious. Severus thought this task might be devised to torture the audience as well as the champions, since they had no idea of what might be going on under the surface and had been left to imagine the worst while drowning in the most awful feeling of powerlessness. Or at least that's how he felt.

Was he making a terrible mistake, staying out of it? Should he have tried to position himself at the bottom of the lake before the task started, just in case? Should he try to shake off Moody's and Dumbledore's close watch and attempt to jump into the lake now? He felt frustrated at the mere idea, so he most likely would not be able to even touch the water.

While Bagman entertained the audience commenting on the deleterious effects that leaving brooms ("And Firebolts at that!") soaking in water could have, Severus did his best to convince himself that Potter would be fine.

The boy had Gillyweed, and according to Irma he and Krum had found a spell to render themselves temporarily deaf, so at least he would not drown. However, that spell must have also rendered him mute, so the brat would be unable to cast any defensive spells underwater. He had Krum as an ally, though, and Krum had already proven during the first task that he could cast non-verbally and that he knew plenty curses and shields, so that might be protection enough.

Besides, merpeople were generally a peaceful race, and the colony at Hogwarts was particularly human-friendly according to Hagrid, just as loath to harm innocents and younglings in particular as centaurs were. Although it had sounded like the hostages would die when the time ran out, so perhaps the merpeople had been threatened by the Goblet or by Dumbledore to play along (it would be hard to believe that the sensible Merchieftainess Murcus would have agreed to be part of this without any sort of coercion) and therefore it couldn't be so easily predicted how hostile towards the champions they might be.

At least the Giant Squid was unlikely to be a problem...

Considering that Potter and Krum had dived into the lake directly (or approximately) above the merpeople's settlement, Severus had expected them to be out of the water with their hostages in less than twenty minutes, assuming they didn't find any trouble. So when half an hour had passed without any signs of any champion emerging, he began to seriously worry.

His worry mutated into really hard-to-conceal panic when around the forty minutes' mark Diggory suddenly broke the surface only twenty feet from the shore, carrying Miss Chang with him. Potter and Krum must have reached the hostages first, so Diggory returning before the others was bad news. Severus felt the urge to accost the Hufflepuff and interrogate him sharply about anything that he might have seen at the bottom of the lake, but of course he couldn't (and he shouldn't even try, with so many eyes on him). Only Poppy had managed to approach the champion and his hostage and was fussing over them with blankets and potions.

Nobody could ask Diggory anything about the still ongoing task, but Diggory could talk on his own and Severus could do his best to eavesdrop, so he managed to catch part of the boy's report to the judges.

"They were sort of arguing with signs and gestures..." The Hufflepuff was saying. "I think they were fighting over Hermione, trying to decide who got to rescue her. I mean... there were only three hostages down there, and I'm pretty sure the other one was Fleur's, so..."

Severus cursed internally. So much for unity.

Could Potter and Krum truly be delayed because of a stupid teenager fight over a girl (and Granger at that)? He supposed that if the hostages had been magically selected by the Goblet of Fire then it was possible that two different champions had the same hostage, and both Potter and Krum definitely seemed to care about the Know-It-All, but how was this supposed to be resolved? What would happen to the champion who didn't get to rescue the hostage?

He saw that the judges had huddled together and seemed to be arguing in whispers, Dumbledore constantly shaking his head while Igor pointed an accusing finger at him and Maxime frowned angrily. Diggory, on his part, had gone back to the shore and was talking quietly with Chang, who looked worried and was also shaking her head.

They were all distracted from the whispered discussions when some student —that sounded like Jordan— suddenly shouted and directed everyone's attention back to the lake.

"YES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," commented Bagman when he had found the cause of the uproar with his Omnioculars, "ANOTHER CHAMPION SEEMS TO HAVE EMERGED FROM THE LAKE, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE DURMSTRANG CHAMPION! YES, MR. KRUM HAS FOUND HIS WELL-SOAKED BROOM AND IS MOUNTING UP WITH HIS HOSTAGE!"

A few minutes later Krum had landed on shore and Poppy was fussing over him and Miss Granger. Krum was having none of that, however, refusing the blanket and the Pepper Up and loudly cursing in Bulgarian while he paced back and forth along the bank, scowling into the distance every few seconds. He calmed down a fraction when Granger went to him and grabbed his hand, but he was still visibly upset and looked as if he were half-considering to climb onto his broom again and go back into the lake.

Now Severus was definitely panicking. Bagman had said that each champion's task would be over when his or her hostage was safe on shore, so if Granger was both champions' hostage then the task should be considered complete for Potter too even if Krum had done the rescuing, right? So why was Potter still down there? Had something happened to the boy? Was he being held back by the merpeople? Had Krum done something to him? The worry in the Bulgarian's face seemed authentic, though...

When there were only ten minutes left, the surface of the lake was disturbed by another champion emerging, but to Severus' desperation it was Miss Delacour's blond, bubbled head the one to appear fifty feet away from the shore. And it immediately became evident that she was in trouble. The girl seemed to be struggling with something, disappearing under the surface and reappearing over and over again as if she were being pulled down.

Several judges and multiple Beauxbatons' students looked anxious to go help her, but of course no one could. No one except the champions. Diggory only hesitated a few seconds before diving back into the water, Krum following close behind, and between the two of them they quickly dealt with whatever was attacking Delacour (probably Grindylows) and dragged the girl to the shore. She was bleeding and screaming hysterically in three different languages, fighting against her fellow champions' restraint in her desperation to go back to the lake.

The crowd watched in silence. Even Severus' hard, cold heart was a little shaken by the sight of the proud girl's nervous breakdown. She had failed to retrieve her hostage, and time was almost up. There was no way she could reach the bottom of the lake in less than five minutes, especially not if she was injured, which was no doubt why Diggory and Krum were stopping her from trying.

Despite her slender figure, the hysterical champion seemed to have duplicated her strength in her desperation, and she was now threatening the other champions with her wand. She didn't attack, however, distracted by Diggory's attempts to reason with her, and Krum finally took advantage of such distraction to disarm her.

All the while, she was bleeding from multiple wounds and not seeming to care about that in the slightest. Poppy looked as if she wanted to start muttering healing charms and fill the girl up with calming draughts, but the Goblet must be preventing her from assisting her. Delacour's task wasn't yet over, after all. It would only be over when her hostage was dead.

With only five minutes left, Severus' anxiety was reaching a breaking point and his attention was mostly focused on the point of the lake where Potter's irritating head continued refusing to make an appearance. Diggory was still struggling with Delacour, but Krum had gone back to pacing and scowling at everything and everyone except at Severus, whose eyes the Bulgarian seemed to be carefully avoiding.

Severus almost fainted in relief when Bagman let out a loud yelp and excitedly announced that something else had emerged in the distance. He narrowed his eyes to focus and saw that, indeed, there seemed to be something splashing around the same place Krum had come out.

"YES!" exclaimed Bagman in triumph, "IT'S MR. POTTER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND IT SEEMS HE HAS HIS HOSTAGE WITH HIM!"

"BUT HOLD ON!" added Bagman, his voice falling, "THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME SORT OF PROBLEM OVER THERE. MR. POTTER HAS MOUNTED HIS BROOM AND CARRIED UP HIS HOSTAGE, BUT HE'S STILL NOT MOVING, AND I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER!"

Severus felt cold all over again. The hour was almost up. Would the merpeople try to prevent the boy from escaping? Were they trying to drag him down right now? He glanced in Krum's direction, ready to pierce his head with the most threatening look ever accomplished, but he saw with relief that the Bulgarian had already mounted his broom and was taking off to aid his ally.

All his anxiety and dread instantly turned to confusion and increasing fury when both fliers got back and he saw what each of them were carrying. Potter had a little girl with silver hair firmly wrapped around him, easily recognizable as Miss Delacour's hostage even without need of hearing her scream in French at her sister. It incensed Severus to realize that the stupid boy had been delayed and had risked who knew what trying to rescue someone else's hostage.

Much more confusing and infuriating was what Krum was carrying. The Bulgarian had a dog tucked under his arm like a huge irregular Quaffle. Clearly Potter's dog, judging by the way the animal immediately ran to the boy and began licking his face and happily wagging its tail the moment Krum released it.

Had Severus gone through so much trouble to help Potter rescue a dog? And a stray dog, by the look of it. It would be really hard to believe that Petunia could admit such a shaggy beast inside her house, or keep it in such a state.

Could that really be the brat's hostage? What did it say about the boy that he cared about an animal more than about any person?

Unless...

Something big and with padded feet.

Unspeakable horror and blinding rage took over his entire mind.

Had Severus gone through so much trouble to help Potter rescue Black?