Viktor Krum was having a bad day…
Not only was it the day of another vicious Triwizard task, but he got bit by a damn Mackled Malaclaw.
The little beast was a magical creature, closely resembling the lobsters Krum had been eating lately.
However, this particular creature was far more dangerous than its tasty cousin.
As any competent witch or wizard knew, bitten by a Malaclaw was known to cause extreme bad luck for up to a week.
Experts advised anyone cursed with the beast's bite to cancel all bets, wagers, and ventures, as those would almost certainly turn against them.
And Krum could already feel its effects taking hold…
After all, how could one come face to face with a Cloaked Lethifold, in the depths of a British Lake?
Not only were they even rarer than their land-based cousins, the normal Lethifolds, but they were also far more dangerous; for humans at least.
The Cloaked Lethifold was known for its ability to meld seamlessly into its surroundings.
They could disappear almost entirely when submerged, blending into the dark waters like shadows in the night.
Krum had read only once about them and discarded the idea as mere folklore or urban legend — the kind that wizards told to scare each other over late-night drinks — but he never thought he'd come face-to-face with one.
'Especially not during the fucking Triwizard Tournament,' he thought bitterly.
Karkaroff had promised him that the tournament would be safe and that he would probably walk away injury-free…
Krum tightened his grip on his wand, his jaw clenching with determination; he'd be damned if he let some aquatic phantom get the better of him.
He saw it, slithering through the water with an eerie, predatory grace, its dark, cloaking tendrils drifting around it like a sinister veil.
Krum had barely made out its form, a faint shimmer in the dim light.
He lost sight of the creature though, and he could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he frantically scanned the murky waters.
Krum could feel it watching him.
'Where is it? Where did it go?'
The question echoed in his mind as he spun in a slow circle, his eyes straining to catch even the slightest movement.
A soft ripple to his right made him turn, just in time to see the Lethifold flicker back into sight, its tendrils stretching towards him like creeping vines.
With a sharp flick of his wand, Krum bellowed through his half-shark maw, "Lumos Protectis Maxima!"
A blinding light burst forth, cutting through the darkness and creating a bubble of protective light around him.
For a brief moment, the Lethifold recoiled, its shadowy form shimmering under the harsh illumination.
Needless to say, it wasn't enough to drive it back.
'Damn thing and damn patronus,' he cursed and with a quick wave of his wand, he cast "Impedimenta!" hoping to slow it down, but the spell seemed to bounce off, barely slowing the creature's advance.
Krum, for all his flying genius and combat prowess, was unable to cast the silvery-white guardian…
Uncaring about Krum's inner quandaries, the lethifold slithered forward, wrapping itself around Krum's light sphere, absorbing it, and quickly snuffing out the glow.
"Confringo!" he cried, sending a blast towards it.
The water exploded in a burst of bubbles and light, but when the waves settled, the Lethifold was still there, slipping around the attack as if it was nothing more than a passing current.
It was also closer than before.
Krum almost panicked as he felt an icy tendril of fear grip his heart.
The Lethifold's presence seemed to seep into his very bones, chilling him from the inside out.
Krum struggled to maintain his composure and his thoughts briefly flashed to the other champions.
Were they dealing with similar horrors, or was it just his miserable luck that had brought this nightmare upon him?
Raising his wand, he summoned all the power he could muster for a single spell.
"Ventus Maxima!" he roared, and a powerful whirlpool surged out, spiralling through the water and forcing the Lethifold to unfurl its tendrils, revealing its form.
"Bozhe moi," he muttered, his eyes widening at the sight.
Perhaps he shouldn't have done that.
He was sure that if he survived, the writhing mass of darkness he saw would haunt him in the nights for days to come…
The currents tore at the creature, making it shimmer and twist, but still, the Lethifold pushed forward, relentlessly.
It was close now, too close.
Krum could see the faint suggestion of a mouth, a dark, gaping maw hidden beneath its shroud, and he knew that if it managed to get ahold of him, there would be no escape.
"Incendio Perpetua!" he bellowed, a fire spell powerful enough to burn even in water.
Dark flames erupted from his wand, swirling around the Lethifold, encasing it in a fiery spiral.
The creature hissed, its tendrils shrinking back as the heat seared through the water.
Krum held his breath, forcing the spell to stay lit, to burn bright — or dark — and strong, even though the Lethifold fought to extinguish it.
By the time it managed to snuff out the flames, Krum had dropped his self-transfiguration and instead shifted into his animagus form… becoming a dolphin!
He immediately swam away, and the water around him seemed to lighten as he found himself drifting into a new clearing.
'Thank god, I managed to escape. At least now, nothing worse can happen,' Krum thought to himself.
Relief washed over him.
But then he felt a disturbance in the water.
The vibrations quickly grew stronger, and with them came a sense of foreboding.
That was when he heard a distant roar, barely muffled by the depths.
It was unmistakably loud and terrifying.
He was about to change his course when he felt the water around him suddenly get colder, darker, as if all warmth had been sucked away.
'Unrelenting bastard,' Krum cursed and swam towards the terrible roar.
After all, what were the odds that the source of the sound was something more dangerous than the insidious thing that was hell-bent on eating him?
The lake grew darker, and Krum began to regret his earlier decision.
As he approached the source of the disturbance, he could see flashes of light illuminating the murky water.
Krum's sharp dolphin eyes soon caught sight of figures in the distance.
It was Potter, Delacour, and Diggory, locked in a fierce struggle.
For a moment, he couldn't make out what they were fighting, but then he saw it: a massive serpent, its dark, glistening body twisting and coiling around the champions.
'Holy shit.'
The serpent was easily the largest creature Krum had ever seen.
Even larger than the dragon he'd faced in the first task.
It moved with a lethal grace, its powerful coils propelling it through the water, and it was clear that it was toying with Harry, savouring the hunt.
Krum hesitated for a heartbeat, assessing the scene.
Delacour and Diggory were locked in combat with a horde of grindylows, led by an enormous, menacing Grindylow king.
The king wielded a jagged, twisted sword with surprising skill, slashing at the water with each swing, and deflecting spells.
His minions swarmed around, adding to the chaos…
Potter was facing off against the giant serpent alone, his wand glowing as he fired spell after spell at the monstrous creature.
The serpent's head bobbed and weaved, dodging most of Potter's attacks with unsettling ease.
However, the boy kept firing spells and eventually, somehow managed to conjure ropes that were able to restrain the serpent.
The creature thrashed against its bindings, its scales gleaming in the dim light of the lake.
Potter's face contorted with intense concentration before he bellowed an incantation.
Suddenly, a blinding flash erupted — it was as if the sun had somehow found its way into the underwater depths.
The explosion rippled through the water, an immense blast of orange light that seemed to swallow everything in its path.
For a moment, Krum could hardly see, his vision overwhelmed by the brightness.
The shockwave surged outward, sending a torrent of bubbles and waves crashing against him, almost knocking him off course.
As the light dimmed, Krum blinked rapidly, trying to refocus.
The serpent was still there, but it had been forced back, its body writhing in pain.
A jagged, smouldering wound marred its scales, stretching across most of its length.
The wound pulsed with an eerie, otherworldly light as if Potter's spell had left something behind.
It hissed, a deafening, furious sound that made the water around them tremble.
Krum watched as Potter lowered his wand, his chest heaving.
The boy looked exhausted, his limbs heavy, but his eyes were sharp, fixed on the serpent.
'Potter is insane,' Krum thought, his mind racing as he assessed the chaotic scene before him.
However crazy his fellow champion might have been though, Krum preferred sticking closer to his fellow humans, and Veela, in the moment.
'I mean, there should be one of them who can cast the damn patronus. Right?' Krum thought as he transformed back into a human, casting a bubble-head charm on his head.
.
Harry tensed, ready for another attack.
But to his surprise, the serpent's air changed.
Its massive head lowered slightly, and its eyes, still blazing with intensity, held a glimmer of something else – fear, he realised.
Harry was taken aback by the sudden shift in the serpent's demeanour.
'Does it fear me?' he let himself wonder.
The thought trailed off unfinished, as Harry noticed a new presence in the water.
A dark form quickly glided through the murky depths, its movements smooth and deliberate.
When it drew closer, Harry could make out the distinctive shape of… a dolphin.
'What the fuck?' he thought incredulously
As if the surprise wasn't enough, the dolphin suddenly morphed, its sleek form elongating and shifting until it became the familiar figure of Viktor Krum.
Harry's eyes widened as the last champion swam towards him, his wand at the ready.
"Do you know how to cast the patronus?" Krum shouted immediately, his eyes darting nervously behind them.
Harry nodded, keeping his eyes on the suddenly still serpent, his grip tightening on his wand.
"I can," he replied with a steady voice; a deep contrast to Krum's panicked tone.
"Why are you asking?" Harry inquired and followed the boy's gaze.
He didn't see anything at first, but then he let his hold of his magic sight and sense relax.
Countless sensations flooded his senses as he opened himself to the magic surrounding them.
He let more and more of his awareness expand, and then… even the water started to whispering him secrets.
He was about to rein his senses back in, but then… he caught a glimpse of something.
'What the hell?'
The presence he felt — it was somehow cloaking itself against him.
At first, he couldn't make sense of it; the sensation felt alien and unsettling.
But as he focused, it was as if a dam had burst, flooding his senses.
The previously insidious being revealed itself to Harry, and Merlin was he surprised…
It was a force so dark and cold, it seemed to suck the very life out of the water around it.
He briefly wondered if a Dementor had somehow found its way underwater — 'Can Dementors swim?'
Harry's magical sense enveloped the dreadful being, probing its nature, and what he felt sent the mother of shivers down his spine.
It was as if a fragment of Death itself had somehow found its way into the mortal world and took form.
It was shifting and writhing like a living shadow; its edges were blending so seamlessly with the murky depths that he was having a hard time distinguishing where the creature ended and the water began.
As it drew closer, Harry felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over him, a primal fear much like the one caused by Ozeth, but also completely different.
It was worse than a Dementor — much worse — and made his blood run cold.
"Krum," Harry said sharply, his eyes darting to the Bulgarian, "What the fuck did you fish?"
The Bulgarian flashed a sheepish smile, which quickly turned into a grimace.
"A Cloaked Lethifold. Do you know vot's a Lethifold, Potter?" Krum asked, his voice tense with urgency.
At Harry's shake of the head, the older boy quickly explained.
"Like a Dementor, it feeds on fear, but vere Dementors suck avay happiness, the Lethifold wraps itself around its victims, smothering them in silence. They're nearly impossible to detect until it's too late."
Harry's mind raced.
He had faced the damned wraithlike Dark creatures before, and his Patronus was strong enough to repel them.
But this was different; he hadn't faced a Lethifold before.
'A simple Patronus might not be enough to drive it back.'
"It's been hunting me since I encountered it earlier in the lake. Ve need to act fast before it gets too close to us," Krum continued, unaware of Harry's internal deliberations.
The Bulgarian's words snapped Harry back to the present.
"Alright. When that dreadful creature comes, you will distract the snake long enough for me to deal with it," Harry stated.
Whether Krum could hold back the serpent long enough for him to deal with the Cloaked Lethifold, was another matter altogether.
And he'd rather not contemplate if he could deal with the darkness incarnate…
'What choice do we have?' he wondered absentmindedly.
The giant serpent, though wounded, was still a formidable threat, and now they had a Lethifold to contend with.
Speaking of the snake, it seemed to break from whatever trance it had been in and suddenly lunged forward.
Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth as it barrelled towards them.
Krum's eyes widened in shock as the serpent surged forward.
With barely a moment to react, the Bulgarian whipped his wand, slashing at the oncoming death sentence.
"Morteus Ignis!"
A torrent of purple fire erupted from the tip, spiralling through the water like a fiery serpent itself…
The flames lit up the darkened depths, casting eerie shadows against the serpent's closing teeth.
Krum's spell made the massive creature hesitate for a moment, but it still pressed forward.
'Oh shit,' the Bulgarian thought.
The spell connected.
And predictably, the serpent recoiled, its scales sizzling where the purple flames had touched.
The underwater depths were once again reverberating with terrifying roars of pain.
Yet, the serpent's eyes gleamed, because it knew… it knew that it had its prey.
Despite the searing pain from Krum's spell, the snake didn't slow down for even a moment, and Krum had realised that much too late.
Krum's eyes widened in terror as the serpent's massive jaws were closing in, its teeth gleaming in the murky water.
'If I find that Mackled Malaclaw in the afterlife, I'll make sure it regrets ever dying,' Krum thought bitterly.
His life flashed before his eyes and he braced for the inevitable impact.
Images of his family, his friends, and his early Quidditch career, when things were simpler, flashed in his mind.
He saw the proud faces of his parents, and the cheering crowds at the school when he caught the snitch for the first time, breaking all Durmstrang seeker records…
He closed his eyes as the serpent's jaws enveloped him and were about to snap.
But the impact never came…
'What?'
Unlike Krum, Harry wasn't surprised by the snake's sudden lunge.
Despite talking with the older boy, he wasn't dumb enough to stop observing the snake.
His reflexes, honed by years of Quidditch and live-or-die situations, kicked in instinctively.
In a fluid motion, Harry raised his wand, his mind already formulating the perfect spell to counter the imminent threat.
However, the snake had lunged at Krum, and the stupid champion didn't bother moving himself out of harm's way.
With heavy reluctance, Harry stopped his spell midway and instead cast a powerful summoning charm.
"Accio Krum!" Harry shouted instead, just as the serpent's jaws were about to snap shut around the older champion.
Viktor Krum's body jerked violently through the water and the spell yanked him towards Harry with alarming speed.
He narrowly avoided the crushing bite of the serpent's fangs, a blur of shadow and scales as the creature snapped at empty water.
Krum, now floating limply next to Harry, looked stunned, his face pale and wide-eyed beneath his bubblehead charm.
Before Krum could even utter a word, the serpent turned to the two wizards, its cold, reptilian gaze fixed squarely on Harry.
It hissed, the sound reverberating through the water like a thunderclap.
"Wizard, you've proven yourself a formidable opponent," the serpent hissed begrudgingly, its voice seething with anger. "But do not think this battle is over. I sense a greater darkness approaching, one that will spell even your doom."
"Your threats don't scare me," Harry retorted, his hiss steady despite his inner turmoil.
"We don't have time for you to get eaten, Krum," Harry muttered, his wand still raised, eyes locked on the massive serpent.
However, the Bulgarian didn't answer.
The near-death experience had rattled him, and adding to that, was Harry speaking to the giant snake.
Krum blinked.
Of course, he knew that Harry Potter was a parselmouth, everyone knew that after it was revealed in Harry's second year.
However, knowing and seeing were two different things.
Finally regaining his composure, Krum returned Harry's barb, "I—vould prefer that," he muttered, straightening himself.
The tension in the water was palpable as the two sides stood at an impasse.
The giant serpent, even more wounded than before, looked back with anxiousness.
"Speaker, I think we—"
The snake was cut off when an unmistakable entity arrived, its presence chilling the water around them.
Neither the snake nor Krum could see it yet.
However, Harry saw it as clear as the day — the Lethifold's dark, insidious form — and exactly where it was…
'Bloody hell.'
.
Fleur's fingers tightly wrapped around her wand as she fired off another blast at the Grindylow king.
The monstrous creature's jagged, grotesque features contorted as the spell hit its mark and singed his thick, dark skin.
He only bellowed in defiance.
'Tough, unrelenting beast,' Fleur thought, gritting her teeth.
The king seemed impervious to her attacks, shrugging off spells that should have dealt grievous wounds to him.
If her normal spell repertoire wasn't up for the task, she'd have to resort to more drastic measures.
With a deep breath, Fleur focused, closing herself from the new, welcoming, feeling that the depths offered her.
'Easy,' she thought, feeling the familiar warmth of her inner fire begin to build and reach out to her fingertips.
"Diggory, keep the Grindylows off me while I deal with this bastard!" Fleur called out, glancing over her shoulder to ensure her fellow champion was with her.
Cedric looked at her, uncertainty plain on his face.
For a moment, Fleur thought that he'd say no, his face a mask of concentration and dread as he weighed some silent thought.
But then, his gaze met hers, and he gave a curt nod.
"Alright."
He immediately pulled back his wand and cast a spell according to the girl's wishes.
"Repello Maxima!"
A shimmering barrier of force pushed back the screeching, clawed creatures, creating a temporary, almost safe space.
Almost, because, their king remained unaffected by the spell, its massive form still looming menacingly before them.
The creature's blood-red eyes narrowed, focusing on Cedric with a predatory intensity.
Undeterred, the boy ignored the Grindylow, knowing that his next spells would need his utter concentration, and trusting Delacour to defend him.
"Protego Maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum."
Three spells.
The layered barrier sprang to life, radiating with a faint blue luminescence, forming a reinforced bubble around the two champions and the colossal Grindylow.
Cedric's face was pale from the exertion, but he held on; his wand unwavering…
Fleur watched amazed as the protective sphere swiftly formed around them.
It didn't have a big radius, but she was impressed nonetheless.
The spell, she knew, was a creation of the world champion duellist, Filius Flitwick.
'Merde. I didn't expect any of the other champions to be good enough to cast something like this,' she thought with a mix of surprise and respect.
Although she most probably had the skill to cast the spell, it'd take relentless practice to manage to successfully cast it; it was that difficult.
Fleur could feel the intensity of Diggory's effort and silently commended him.
Turning back to the king, she could see him swimming towards her companion, probably intending to take down the shield.
The king's jagged, twisted sword gleamed ominously as he gripped it with his clawed, sinewy hands.
Cedric's face was a mask of concentration and he didn't notice the approaching threat.
However, that didn't matter.
'I'm ready.'
Fleur used the opening to surge forward, her wand aimed squarely at the massive beast.
"FLAMMA SWATHE."
Fleur waved her wand and a small, white-hot flame, burned on the beast's upper torso.
The flames spread around the Grindylow king's body, undeterred by the water's fire-extinguishing properties...
The monster shrieked, a horrible, grating sound that vibrated through the depths, and his grip on his weapon slackened as the enchanted flames licked his skin, hissing and cracking as they burned him.
Out of the corner of her eye, Fleur saw a grindylow approach the barrier and get incinerated.
Fleur grinned to herself, eyes focusing back on her target and she pressed her advantage.
"Ignis cluvee," she whispered fiercely.
The Grindylow king's shrieks turned into guttural, choking sounds as new flames got conjured and formed a cage around him, searing its body.
His weapon fell from his hand, sinking slowly to the lake bed below, whilst he clawed feebly at the flames that encased him.
His helpless expression gave Fleur a momentary pause.
'What the hell am I doing?' the French girl questioned herself, watching in horror at the poor creature.
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
This wasn't the time for hesitation or moral quandaries.
It was a fight, and in a fight, it was either kill or be killed.
She opened her mouth, ready to cast a finishing spell, but her momentary falter cost her.
Due to her wavering, Fleur's fire spells lost some of their potency and the Grindylow king, being the relentless cockroach he was, seized the opportunity…
With a sudden burst of strength, it broke free from the fiery cage, its charred body still smoking but its eyes blazing with renewed fury.
Dropping all thoughts of self-preservation, the mad creature lunged at Fleur, claws extended, aiming for her throat.
Fleur's eyes widened in horror as she realised what her hesitation was about to cost her.
She tried to turn her body away, but she was too slow.
The king's claws grazed her shoulder, drawing blood.
Fleur gasped in pain as she desperately tried to put distance between herself and the enraged creature.
Her efforts were for naught though.
It was in its own habitat, and it moved far faster than she could.
The Grindylows' claws were mere inches from her face when suddenly, a blinding green light filled her vision.
"Avada Kedavra," a cold voice hissed.
The spell hit the Grindylow king square in the chest, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Then, without a single sound, the creature's body went rigid.
It began to drift lifelessly to the lake bed.
Fleur whirled around, her eyes wide with shock and fear, to see who had cast the Unforgivable Curse.
However, there was no one there…
Her attention returned to the dead Grindylow, and that's when she saw her wand.
Her still-aimed wand, which was pointing directly at the dead creature.
A chill ran down her spine.
'Merde,' Fleur thought, her mind reeling from the realisation.
Suddenly, the cold voice echoed in her mind, and she could clearly hear herself whispering the two deadly words.
The Killing Curse had come from her lips…
She had cast an Unforgivable Curse, and worse, she barely remembered doing it.
The implications were more than terrifying, but she had no time to dwell on them because just then, a terrible roar echoed through the water.
Fleur felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
She looked over at Cedric, who had gone pale, whether that was from the roar or her spell, Fleur didn't know.
She wondered what went wrong again as she saw a cloaked figure encompassing the giant snake that Harry had been fighting with.
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A quick edit: I don't read your reviews often because honestly, it may take just one negative review to ruin my mood... Call me coward, whatever.
Let me start by saying that when I started writing this story I was not the person that I am today. I didn't know things that I do now and I definitely did not know where I was going with this.
So when I wrote about Dumbledore stealing the Potter inheritance, I made one of the many mistakes that haunt this story.
Now for most of you, who've reached this far, you probably don't care. I don't know whether it's because you simply ignored it, forgot about it or something else.
Me, I mostly forgot about it, and when it was first brought up I tried editing the chapter a bit, thinking that I fixed the issue.
I obviously did not, and I'm sorry for disregarding it so easily.
As I've said before, the point of the whole vault issue was to make Harry 'question' Dumbledore's motives...
Anyhow, I think I'll drop the whole vault idea since it was mentioned very scarcely in the story and I don't think I could introduce it now. What are your thoughts?
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On a good note, I've started writing a new fic. Here's the synopsis.
An ancient ward has been activated at Hogwarts that kicks all the adults out of the castle. However, that's nothing compared to the ward that doesn't allow any of the inhabitants from leaving... Every adult—every teacher, every staff member—had vanished in an instant, leaving hundreds of students alone in a magically sealed castle. Cannon until 7th year. Harry goes back to school.
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A surprise upload? Huh.
Now for the latest legends—on the dark website—we have: Zyeith, anthony, Mauricio Perez, Logan Petersen, Charlene Turner (wrong fandom), Jordan Guy, RedStark and last but not least, LoneWolf_3000.
[p=a=t=r=e=o=n=.=c=o=m/Mr_0ne] : Chapter 26 - Threads of sorrow
Or do a Google search of 'p=a=t=r=e=o=n= Fake Violinist'.
[d=i=s=c=o=r=d=.=g=g/NJ3WV9RVgR]