The Fourth Wizard

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Potterverse!

Author's Note: Many thanks to my Beta Buggycas.

Beta's Note: He published without giving me a chance to look it over again. This is the more grammatically correct version.

Chapter 6

That evening after dinner Luna appeared in his dorm from the showers without him seeing her enter them, "How did you get in there Luna?" From the faces of the other guys he figured they were as surprised as he was.

She smiled, "Oh, there's a secret entrance from the Ravenclaw girls dorms." She shrugged, "It goes from the linen closet the elves store sheets in to your shower."

Harry almost asked how she knew but then decided he didn't want to know. He did ask, "Can you show me where it is after we're done?"

She tilted her head again as she studied him, "Yes, but only you."

"Works for me," he said.

Neville blushed and said, "Can you warn me when you're coming like you did this time?"

Luna nodded, "I'll let you or Harry know whenever I'm coming here to join you."

Hermione looked briefly shocked then shrugged, "As long as she doesn't of know any leading to the girl's dorm; I'm fine with it."

Luna said, "I haven't found any."

During the study period, Harry showed her the way to cast a patronus and cautioned her it would take a while to get right even if she had the power to do it.

Neville showed her the invisibility spell he got from his uncle, then somewhat nervously asked her to be ethical with her knowledge.

Luna smiled in return and kissed his cheek, "Of course, Neville!" Then she contributed a spell that he had seen some of the reporters using. If cast on a quill and parchment it caused the quill to write everything the person said on the parchment. If more than one person spoke it separated them into paragraphs. "Be careful though," she warned, "some variants of the spell slant the speaker's words in whatever direction the caster wants, and I have heard of some that do more and worse than that."

They all thanked her for the warning. Then Hermione showed her the first of the elemental spells Neville's uncle showed them.

Then after Hermione left, under Harry's cloak to avoid being seen walking from the boys' dorms after curfew, Luna showed Harry the secret passage.

"Thank you, Luna," Harry said. "I won't use it except in an emergency."

"I know," she replied. "That's why I was willing to show it to you."

Luna also showed up for dancing lessons. She seemed to learn quickly though, and Harry wondered if she really needed it. Neville was the one teaching her most of the time of course, and she really seemed to enjoy spending time with him. He said nothing about it though. Privately he thought they made a good couple.

On Saturday, a week after that disastrous Halloween, Croaker came back and gathered all the chosen in a room, "I'm sorry to tell you, but the tournament has not been cancelled. You're all required to compete. That said, nobody is telling you that you have to try hard. As long as you show up to each challenge and make any attempt at it, you'll be safe from the consequences."

Cedric raised a hand, "Exactly what are the consequences, sir?"

"Losing your magic," Croaker replied. "Now I said I would teach whoever wanted it so if you want to learn, stay in the room and I'll teach until dinner. If not you're free to leave now." Nobody left. Croaker nodded, "You never got told what the first task is so I'll start with that. You'll be casting your wind spells at a device created specifically for this tournament. It will recognize each magical signature, and once you've reached a predetermined threshold, you will be given a clue to the next task. As well as points of course. Ten points for first place and one less for each place after that."

"Will any wind spell do?" Fleur asked.

"No," he replied. "In an attempt to keep things even I'm to show you all the same spell. The idea is that if you are all using the same spell, then the strongest will win regardless of age or experience."

"That sounds at least sort of fair," Daphne said. "Potter will win of course, but I might get into the top three."

Fleur snorted in disbelief but said nothing. She was determined to show not tell the others how powerful she was.

Croaker nodded, "So the first thing I'll show you is the wind spell." The spell he showed them was different from the one he'd showed Harry and the rest on Halloween. Harry picked it just as quickly though and smiled a little at the surprise on the faces of Delacour and Krum.

After everyone could cast the spell Croaker said, "Now we can move on. I can't tell you about future tasks, but I want to teach you all a spell that lets you breathe underwater." He showed them a spell called "Vann Puste" that allowed a wizard or witch to breathe water like it was air. He transfigured part of the floor into a pool for them to practice in and said, "You should practice until dinner. I will come back tomorrow to show you at least two more spells and any other day I can make it out here I will. Have fun practicing." He turned and then left.

Fleur transfigured her blue uniform into a silvery one-piece and dove in. Shortly thereafter she surfaced with a shriek and cast frantic warming charms on the water.

Krum laughed and said, "What a delicate thing you are if you can't abide a little cold water!"

She gave him a nasty look, "Maybe you are immune to hypothermia unlike normal people, but I am not!" Then she cast the water breathing spell and sank underneath the water.

Krum stripped to his underwear and jumped in then cast the spell on himself and sank under likewise.

Luna turned to Daphne, "Is your Transfiguration up to doing a swimsuit? I know mine isn't."

Daphne sighed, "No, it isn't." She turned to Angelina, "A little assistance, please? I'd rather not strip or jump in with my robes on."

Angelina nodded, "Sure, good practice for me if nothing else." She changed the clothing of all three into one piece suits. Blue for Luna, green for Daphne, and red for herself. Then she turned to Cedric and Harry and smiled, "Need help gentlemen? Or were you planning on giving us a show?"

Cedric smiled back and transfigured his own clothes into a pair of trunks, "Thanks, Angie, but I can manage for myself. Feel free to ogle though." Then he jumped in the pool himself to practice the new spell.

All three girls turned to look at Harry who gulped then said, "I could use a bit of help yeah. Maybe red and gold trunks?"

Angelina grinned and said, "Well if it's my magic it's going to be my design." She changed his clothes into a golden colored speedo.

Harry blushed and said, "Eep!" then leaped into the pool.

Daphne smiled and said, "Very nice, not an ounce of fat on him, just lean muscle."

"He can hear you," Luna said.

"I know," said Daphne. Then all three girls giggled and joined the others in the pool.

After an hour of practice, they all went to dinner.

After dinner Harry showed the others in his study group the new spells, "I know you're not in the tournament, but that's no reason to not share."

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said.

"Did you research the tournament Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she replied. "They had a lot of different challenges, and I don't know what they have changed, but I can at least tell you some possibilities."

"That's much better than nothing," Harry said.

Hermione said, "Well, there's usually a theme, and given that the first one is going to require wind spells it's probably elemental. They did that one pretty often. It had five elements though."

Harry said, "Fire, water, air, and earth plus what?"

"Aether, representing magic," Hermione said. "Not sure what you'll need for that but you should be set for the others."

"What I really need then is to learn to transfigure my clothes into a swimsuit, so I don't get embarrassed like earlier." Then he winced because he realized what was coming next.

Luna grinned, "It was awesome! When we learned the water breathing the Unspeakable created a pool to practice in. Daphne and I asked Angelina for help since we hadn't brought suits, and so did Harry."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, but while you two got modest suits she gave me a tiny little speedo."

"But you looked so good in it Harry!" Luna said.

"Thank you Luna, but I would rather be more covered," Harry said. "What would you had done if she dressed you like she did me?"

"If I'd been topless? I probably wouldn't have liked it," Luna replied. "Fortunately she would rather ogle your chest than mine."

Hermione said, "I'm sorry you were uncomfortable Harry. I can look and see if there are any books on advanced clothing transfiguration."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said.

The next day the Unspeakable showed up after breakfast, "This is the last day I will have free for a while so here are two more elemental spells that I want you to practice on your own." He lead them outside and taught the champions a tunnelling spell. They practiced under his guidance for about thirty minutes ending up covered in dirt. Fleur banished the dirt after each attempt and Krum teased her for it. Finally, when the Unspeakable was satisfied, they knew the spell he cast a complicated spell that put all the dirt their efforts had excavated back in the ground and regrew the grass over the holes they had dug. There were a few startled exclamations from the students as the dirt on them was added back to the ground, but no one said anything about it.

The second spell he taught them was one to make them fireproof, "This isn't like the fire freezing charm that makes the flames safe for anyone. This spell makes the fire unable to harm you." Then his wrinkled old face smiled as he added, "And if you do it right your clothes are fireproof too." He lead back inside to an empty classroom before showing them that spell. "Alright, now for the proof of the pudding," he said and with a wave of his wand a fire appeared on one side of the room. "Who will be first to try the spell and see if they got it right?"

Harry raised his hand, "I will."

Algernon snorted, and the fire faded out like the illusion it was, "It figures. Well, you'll have to burn yourself on your own time, Harry. I don't want to be responsible for injuring minors or burning the clothes off them either. You all did it correctly as far as I can see. Practice the spell, and it should work when you need it." He shook his head then and left without another word.

Harry shrugged as Hermione gave him a dirty look, "I'm pretty sure I got the spell right, so it wasn't going to be that dangerous."

She sighed, "In comparison to our previous three years I guess this year has been pretty safe."

Fleur and Krum exchanged a glance at that then shook their heads at this crazy school.

As Harry was leaving, he thought about swimming practice and went to go see the Transfiguration Professor. Before he could ask about swimsuits, McGonagall asked him, "Are you able to dance Mr. Potter? All Champions are required to attend the three dances."

"I didn't, but Hermione has been teaching me," Harry replied. "Speaking of the tournament Professor, Hermione has advised me I may need to swim."

"That's certainly possible Mr. Potter," she replied.

"Can you show how to transfigure trunks out of robes?" he asked.

"Aye," she replied. "I believe I can." She explained the theory behind it then showed him how. Afterward, she said, "I thought you were going to ask for a place to practice swimming."

Harry looked surprised, "There's a pool in Hogwarts? I figured I'd have to swim in the lake if I wanted to practice."

Minerva McGonagall smiled, "We do have a pool in Hogwarts. We actually have an entire gym although it's severely outdated since we haven't taught any physical fitness classes since the budget crisis of 1609. The pool is yours to use, but you may want to bring your fellow champions with you so they can help you get it back into shape." She added, "If you let me see your work I'll give you extra credit for it. All of the Hogwarts students will get extra credit if they help you." She told him where to find it.

Harry grinned, "Thank you." He raced off to tell the other champions and his study group. First, he went to Gryffindor tower. As he entered it, he called out, "Hey guys! I just found out Hogwarts has a pool. Professor McGonagall said we can use it if we get it cleaned up and ready for use. We'll even get school credit for it."

"That's great Harry!" Hermione said. "This way you can practice for the water-themed event!"

"Whoa!" Angelina said from a different part of the common room. "What water event?"

Harry said, "Hermione has been studying previous tournaments and thinks it likely there is a water event in it. Our head of house seems to agree. After showing me how to transfigure my robe into trunks," he paused to look at Angelina who just giggled at him, "she told me about the pool. It was built hundreds of years ago and probably needs a lot of work, but it'll be good practice. If we get all the champions and the study group to work on it, then we should be enough."

"That sounds like a good project," Angelina said. "At least we'll get to see how powerful the competition is and what they know. I'll go tell the foreign students if you'll go tell Cedric, Luna, and Daphne. Hermione can bring your study group there."

"It's a deal," Harry said.

Soon they were all gathered in the room that housed the Hogwarts pool.

"Wow," Cedric said. "I never knew Hogwarts even had a pool."

"I know a good cleaning charm for this, but I'll need help," Fleur said.

"If you show us the charm I'm sure we have enough people here to get it clean swiftly," Harry said.

Neville added, "Harry and I know a spell that can refill it fast afterward."

"Bon," Fleur said. She showed everyone the charm and took mental notes on how fast her fellow champions learned the spell and how well they cast it.

Once everything was clean, they found old broken runes carved into the stone.

"I got an O on my Runes OWL, and I don't recognize some of these. I think we should get the Runes Professor down here before we continue," Cedric said.

"I'll go get her," Luna said. "I know a shortcut."

When Professor Bathsheba Babbling got there, she was nearly ecstatic with joy, "Oh, these are lovely examples of runes as they were when the school was founded." She gave points to all there houses and extra credit points to those taking runes. She explained the use of each as she used a spell to fix each one. There were runes that controlled the temperature of the water, one to keep it fresh, and one to cushion the bottom of the pool in case anyone tried diving and hit their head.

"Thanks for including me in this project," she said after she finished. "If you find any more old runes feel free to come and get me again." Then she left the room and hurried back to her office to write an article about finding them for The Journal of Ancient Runes.

Harry and Neville used the water spell his uncle had showed the study group to fill the pool. Krum scowled at this, "Is new spell to me. You show?"

Harry nodded, "Sure, I'll show everyone." He demonstrated the spell and cautioned them that it was not a spell to use on other people as it was very powerful and could be dangerous.

"How is it that you know this spell, but the older students here don't?" Fleur asked.

"Oh it's not taught here," Harry said. "We have a study group, and when one of our members finds a new spell, they show the rest of us." He smiled and gestured to Neville, "He found this one and several other good ones."

Neville blushed, "Everyone finds good ones, not just me."

Luna said, "Well the pool is ready, and I'm ready to swim. Angelina, I hope you get to put Harry in that tiny little suit again. He looks so good in it!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "No, thanks. I learned to do it myself." He transfigured his clothes to long swim trunks, "See?"

Luna pouted, "Oh poo." Then she giggled, "So does this mean I have to wear the tiny suit today? I guess it's only fair so I won't complain if you put me in it."

Daphne snickered, "One good ogle deserves another? I'm not sure it works like that Luna and given how red Harry got I guess he won't be taking you up on it."

"You English," Fleur scoffed. "Such much drama over a little skin."

Krum grinned, "I agree. We sophisticated Europeans should set an example, should we not?" He took out his wand and soon was in a black speedo. He turned and smirked at her, "Your turn."

She gave him a dirty look then a tight smile, "D' Accord." She transfiguration her blue uniform into a blue bikini. She looked around, "Anyone else?"

Cedric was already in trunks, and Angelina was back in her red one piece, leaving only Daphne and Luna to decide.

Daphne sighed, "I think I shall have to speak to Professor McGonagall myself sometime soon. Or have my mother send my swimsuit from home." She nodded to Fleur, "Sure, just not too small please?"

Luna nodded, "Me too."

Fleur nodded and gave them each a bikini but with a bit more coverage than hers. "Bon, now we are equipped to exercise and practice the water breathing spell at the same time. Which is good because if there is a water task, we will need to hold the spell while being physically active underwater."