And here's the eighty first chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
* Review Response:
Just William, bennylava77, DarkRavie, erbkaiser, Guest, BMS, PrincessEastwind (guest), thank you for your reviews, folks!
Brockster550, the Second Task will probably be in the next chapter, but this one should give some insights into what it will be. And, it's rather different from the one in the books - partially because I find the idea of people sitting on the stands and staring at the surface of the lake for an hour to be rather ...unfun. While it might be a challenge for the Champions, the Tournament is also an event for the others to spectate. And so they better be able to see what the Champions are doing out there.
magitech, except everyone - or, almost everyone - seems to forget about that little fact. British Magical society is full of sheeple.
* AN: This chapter has not been beta-read.
* WARNING: This chapter contains an eye-bleeding terrible attempt at poetry.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter LXXXI: Four Keys
While a significant portion of the holidays ended up being devoted to other things, Harry did manage to work some more on figuring out the 'treasure chest' he had obtained during the First Task. And, in fact, he had succeeded in identifying the enchantments used to keep it locked. Actually breaking those enchantments would have to wait until he was back at Hogwarts, though. Still, it was a significant progress and he hoped that whatever was hidden inside would help him get through the Second Task.
He couldn't help but share this piece of news with Flora and Hestia when they reunited aboard the Hogwarts Express. The twins congratulated him on this breakthrough and expressed their desire to be there when he finally opened the chest - they too were more than a little curious about what their boyfriend had to face a dragon for.
Most of the train ride, though, was spent going over a few sketches and several more half-complete ideas for furnishing various rooms of the manor Harry had come up with. The girls also shared some of their own thoughts on the matter. It was their reactions to his suggestions for the most part, though. Still, by the time the train arrived at Hogsmeade, the three of them managed to reach a tentative agreement on furnishing another couple of rooms.
The start-of-the-semester feast was great, like all Hogwarts feasts. But it was also rather uneventful with no major announcements made by Dumbledore: just the usual reminder about the school rules and a bit of hyping for the upcoming Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Once the feast was over and the students made their way to the common rooms, Professor Snape called for a Slytherin House meeting. There, he announced the change in Prefects. A number of students, mostly first- and second-years, were left rather disappointed as they had enjoyed having someone as reliable and helpful as Harry as their Prefect and didn't want him being replaced.
Some other students, meanwhile, chose to interpret this announcement as Harry getting stripped of the Prefect's badge because he was found wanting.
"Did the teachers finally see how much of a pathetic half-blood you really are, Potter?" Draco Malfoy jeered while several others, who shared his views, let out a laugh.
"Do you perhaps need a visit Madam Pomfrey, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Snape's voice cut across the Slytherin common room, revealing that the man didn't actually leave after he had finished with the announcements. "You are clearly having hearing problems. It has to be that as I don't remember you being a dunderhead incapable of comprehending basic human speech."
That shut Malfoy and 'his' cronies up nicely.
"But." The man continued. "If anyone does have doubts, I will repeat: Mr. Potter is stepping down only for the duration of the Triwizard Tournament and will resume his duties as a Slytherin Prefect next September." And with that he turned on his heels and marched out of the common room, this time leaving for real.
~/ *** \~
It wasn't until a few days into the spring semester when Harry finally got around to breaking the locking enchantment on the 'treasure chest' he had obtained during the First Task. And despite the complicated preparations, the actual thing ended up being rather anticlimactic: Harry just pointed his wand and muttered a rather simple incantation. Then there was a soft click and the lock wasn't locked anymore.
The young Potter waited for a few seconds and, when nothing happened, he cautiously opened the chest. When that didn't trigger any hidden traps, be they Magical or otherwise, either, he carefully peered inside. As did Flora and Hestia who were there as well.
Inside the chest, there were four large bronze keys with differently-colored gems displayed prominently on their bows: one gem was red, one was deep-blue, one was green and the last one was light-blue. It immediately made the trio think of the four classical elements.
Aside from the keys, the chest also contained a folded piece of parchment. Harry carefully picked it up and unfolded it. Inside, there was a short poem, which, apparently was a sort-of instructions for the Second Task:
O mighty Champion, hear us:
Before you there is a trial to pass.
Within it, four challenges await,
Let the victor be determined by Fate.
In narrow halls with traps that none are tame
You have to claim the Key of Flame;
The Key of Winds soars high in the sky,
If you want it, you better learn to fly;
The Key of Earth awaits among the trees,
But beware that it's guarded by wild beasts;
And, finally, the Key of Water lies beneath the wave,
Come and grab it if you're brave.
Here is one thing you need to know:
You have to complete three challenges, not four.
Take a key from this chest,
And you only need to collect the rest.
But one thing shall be made very clear:
If you pick a key here, the others will disappear.
So, o brave Champion,
Which challenge will you skip,
And which you will face head on?
"That's… interesting." Harry breathed out after reading the poem a couple of times. "It looks like I'll need to gather four different keys to complete the Second Task, and I can pick one right now from the chest. Whichever keys I don't pick will become my objectives for the Task."
"Seems so." Flora agreed. "And it's pretty clear from the poem that one of the keys will be hidden somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, while another - in the Black lake." She shivered slightly as she imagined diving into freezing-cold waters of the lake.
"And the Key of Flame will probably be somewhere inside the castle." Hestia added. "There is a lot of unused space in the dungeons which can be easily turned into an obstacle course for the Task."
"That seems likely." Harry agreed. "But didn't they build a whole new arena for the First Task? They could do something similar for the Second one as well. They definitely seem to have the budget for it. Unless they've already spent it all on the dragons, of course."
"Point."
"So, that leaves only the Key of Winds." Flora continued. "I bet the challenge to get it will take place at the Quidditch pitch." Her sister nodded in agreement. Harry seemed to think so too:
"You're probably right." He said. "It appears that the challenge to get that key will be about flying, and the hazards for the Champions to overcome will have to be created artificially. And they can do it anywhere, so why not in a place that is already made for flying sports?" There was a rather long pause before he continued: "So… It looks like I need to get the full set of four keys to complete the Second Task. I can pick one from the chest but the remaining three will require beating associated challenges during the Task itself."
"That's what we got from the poem too." The twins said together.
"I'm almost tempted to just pick the Key of Waves now." Harry confessed then. "I really have no desire to dive into the Black lake in the middle of February." Doing something like that was rather dangerous even with Magic: Warming Charms could do only so much. Plus, cold wouldn't be the only thing to worry about either as the lake had its share of Magical Creatures like grindylow that could be aggressive towards humans. "But I'll probably wait until I know more about what exactly the challenges of the Second Task will be."
"That sounds wise." Hestia agreed with his 'plan'. "I don't see anything that says you have to choose now. So just wait until you have more information." She paused for a moment before adding: "But, yeah, I agree that the challenge to get the Key of Waves will be the best one to skip."
The trio talked about what they had learned about the upcoming Second Task a little bit more, but ultimately Harry's preliminary plan for the event remained unchanged. They still decided he should research spells that could help him with retrieving the Key of Waves from the Black lake in case he wasn't allowed to skip that challenge for some reason. The other three challenges didn't look like something that might require much special preparation, though the twins insisted he should learn how to cast spells while flying on a broomstick just in case the challenge for the Key of Winds turned out to be some sort of an aerial battle.
~/ *** \~
A few days after he had successfully broken the enchantments on the chest and got the clues about the Second Task from it, Harry was approached by Cedric Diggory.
"May I have a moment of your time, Harry?" The Hufflepuff teen asked when the two of them ran into each other in the corridor not far from the library.
"Sure. What can I do for you?" The younger wizard said.
"I… Well… Have you been able to open the treasure chest from First Task?" Cedric asked then. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons, so if you need some help with it, I'll be happy to give you a hand." Ah, so this is what it was about, Harry thought.
"Thank you, but I've already broken the locking enchantment on it." He admitted. "And you don't owe me anything. Sharing my suspicions about the First Task with you was the right thing to do." And those had indeed been just suspicions, which could have resulted in them getting prepared for the wrong kind of a challenge. Harry was pretty lucky that his guess about the dragons turned out to be spot on.
"No, no, I can't accept that." Cedric said. "Even if you say that, you did help me a lot with the Task. I can't just ignore it and not pay you back somehow. What kind of a Hufflepuff would I be if I did?" Seeing that there was no winning this argument, the young Potter 'surrendered'.
"Alright, alright. I'm sure there will be an opportunity for you to help me out in the future." He told the other boy.
~/ *** \~
Another couple of days later, the Tournament organizers had summoned the four Champions for a briefing about the upcoming Second Task.
"Good afternoon." Ludo Bagman greeted joyfully. The assembled teens didn't share his enthusiasm, though. Not while being forced to go outdoors during a particularly cold and windy late-January afternoon. Even Warming Charms could do only so much against such weather. Except, Mr. Bagman seemed to be unaffected by the cold somehow. "I'm sure you all are eager to learn more about what you'll be facing for the Second Task of the Tournament. But before we go further, did you all manage to open the chest you've obtained during the First Task."
"Yes." Cedric replied. Victor responded with a grunt while Fleur and Harry only nodded.
"Good, good." Bagman continued. "I'm sure you all have also seen the hint about the Task and the four keys inside." He got more nods in response. "Then let me confirm the guesses you've probably made. The Second Task will indeed require you to assemble a full set of four keys and use them to open your box at the starting area."
"Vill it contain clues for the Third Task?" Victor asked.
"No, there will be none. I can't tell you what the Third Task will be at this time, but I can tell you that you will be given certain advantages or penalties there depending only on your overall score in the Tournament." Bagman replied. He was silent for a few moments before continuing: "Back to the Second Task. As I've said, to complete it you need to collect four keys. You can take one of the keys from the chest, and if you do you won't have to get that particular key during the Task itself."
"So, basically, all of us will have to face only three challenges during the Task?" Cedric asked.
"True." Bagman confirmed. "Though we already know for certain that not everyone will be doing the same three challenges."
This made the French witch briefly show an annoyed scowl, but she quickly schooled her face back into a more neutral expression. Harry did notice it, though, and it made him wonder whether she was one of the Champions who had already picked their keys, and did so in a way she was now unsatisfied with? Perhaps, she picked a 'wrong' key by accident, and now couldn't undo it to pick a key she actually wanted to pick. Whatever the case might be, it wasn't something he needed to be concerned about, nor could he do anything about it anyway, so he pushed it out of his mind.
Meanwhile, Bagman gave out some more information about the upcoming Second Task. Such as when and where it would actually take place, as well as a few rules on what the Champions could and could not bring with them to the Task. For the most part, it was similar to the First Task, but with some more freedom in regards to allowed clothing - likely because one of the Task's challenges involved flying and another - diving into the Black lake.
Once he was done with the announcements, Bagman asked if there were any questions. Somewhat surprisingly, nobody - not even Miss Delacour - had any they were willing to ask. And so the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports dismissed them.
"Did they say anything important about the Second Task during this briefing?" Flora and Hestia asked Harry pretty much as soon as he stepped into the Slytherin common room.
"Mostly just a confirmation of what we have got out of the poem." He replied as he took a seat next to his girlfriends. "There will indeed be four possible challenges during the Task, and I can skip one of those by taking a key from the chest."
"And you're going to skip the dive-into-the-lake challenge." Hestia stated matter-of-factually. Harry nodded.
"Yes." He said. "Might have picked another challenge to skip if it were summer, but there is no way I'm jumping to the Black lake in the middle of February if I can avoid it." He paused for a moment, before adding: "Might as well do it now. Just need to get the chest from my dorm room." With that, he stood up and made his way to the boys' dormitories. He returned a couple of minutes later with the golden chest he had obtained during the First Task. "Alright, let's do it." He said as placed it on a small table before retaking his seat on the sofa between the twins.
"Do it, Harry." Flora said. Harry nodded and opened the chest, revealing the four keys stored inside. Then he picked the one with a deep-blue gem in its bow. Immediately, the remaining three keys started fading out and within a few moments they were all gone without a trace.
"And that's it." The young Potter observed, eyeing the blue-gemmed key in his hand. Thankfully, it didn't look like it was going to follow its 'brothers' and disappear as well. Still, he better keep it very, very safe until the Second Task.
That's all, folks!
Read and review.