Arch Mage, the Path of Magic Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The Second Task approaches and Harry is certain that he now has everything he needs to excel in underwater magic! Bring on the Black Lake, Harry has nothing to be worried about! However, ten days before the Second task is Valentine’s Day and Harry has four lovely ladies to dote on!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 40 – Valentine’s and Second Task

Harry smiled to himself as he walked towards the Great Hall hand-in-hand with Hermione. The couple were taking their time and enjoying their walk through the corridors and staircases. Hermione was smiling softly as she leaned into Harry a little.

They weren’t the only couple being closer than usual today, but that was to be expected, since it was February fourteenth, Valentine’s Day.

When Harry and Hermione reached the Great Hall, they made their way over to the Ravenclaw table, as usual, and sat down across from Luna.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Luna greeted Harry and Hermione with a bright smile.

“Good morning, Luna.” Harry greeted his little sister with a warm smile.

Hermione returned Luna’s smile with her own. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Luna.”

“That’s a lovely bracelet, Hermione.” Luna said as she noticed the shimmering metal bracelet on her friend’s wrist. It had simple crystals, that looked similar to white diamonds, along the length of the silver-like metal. It was beautiful, but simple in design, and clearly magical.

“Thank you, Harry made it for me.” Hermione beamed as she gently trailed her fingers across the bracelet. The magic of the bracelet was a Charm that would alert Hermione of any malicious curse on any object she might be about to touch, along with any poison that might be in anything that she was about eat or drink. It was a thoughtful gift of love and protection from Harry to Hermione and that made Hermione’s heart soar every time she looked at the bracelet.

Harry could only smile at seeing the look of joy on Hermione’s face. It made her even more beautiful in his eyes.

“Bonjour, Harry, Hermione, Luna…” Fleur greeted the three as she sat on Harry’s free side with a gorgeous smile, looking as radiant as always.

“Bonjour, Fleur…” Hermione smiled at her friend…or perhaps more. Fleur returned the smile, beautiful and warm, and Hermione found herself blushing a little.

Harry grinned at Fleur in the way that Fleur had come to associate with her boyfriend being up to some form of magical mischief or creation. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Fleur.” Harry said as he gently took her hand, lightly kissing the back of it, and then placing his other hand atop Fleur’s. “I hope you like it.” He said as he slowly turned Fleur’s hand over, with both of his still gently clasped around it, until her palm was facing the ceiling.

Fleur blinked as she felt a small weight in her palm. “A gift?” She smiled as Harry’s hands moved away and revealed two glimmering earrings. They were silvery in appearance, but with a luster that could only be magical. The deep blue gemstones that decorated the earrings were like perfect sapphires and Fleur could feel the magic within both of the crystals. “They’re beautiful, Harry…” She beamed at Harry and leaned in to kiss him without a care for everyone else in the Great Hall.

“Glad you like them.” Harry said with a dopey grin as he watched Fleur carefully put her new earrings on. “They look amazing on you.”

“They really do.” Hermione agreed, her smile just as warm and affectionate of Harry’s as she gazed at Fleur.

Luna nodded with a happy giggle. “You’re very pretty, Fleur.”

Fleur giggled softly at the three of them. “Merci.” She adored the affection that her friends and boyfriend showed her without being affected by her Allure. Looking at Harry with a little grin, Fleur asked about her earrings. “So, what magic have you weaved into this beautiful gift, Harry?”

“Nothing too complicated.” Harry said as he leaned into Fleur’s ear and whispered about the charms to detect curses and poisons.

“Merci, mon chéri~” Fleur whispered back to Harry, absolutely thrilled by how much Harry clearly wanted to keep her safe. She left a light kiss on Harry’s ear before leaning back with a brilliant smile.

Near the end of breakfast, Harry, never one to care much for what others thought should or shouldn’t happen, traipsed over to the Slytherin table. “Good morning, Daphne.” He greeted his girlfriend with a smile.

“Good morning, Harry.” Daphne replied with soft smile of her own. She ignored the murmurs and whispers from a few at the Slytherin table. They’d been happening rather often since Daphne had gone to the Yule Ball with Harry, after all.

“Good morning, Tracy, Astoria.” Harry greeted his friend and second ‘little sister’ brightly.

“Morning, Harry.” Tracy had a little grin on her lips, her eyes moving between Daphne and Harry almost expectantly.

“Good morning, Harry.” Astoria greeted Harry with warm giggle. She too was looking between her sister and Harry.

“Potter, go back to your own-” Draco tried to snap at Harry.

“Shh.” Harry silenced him without even looking Draco’s way.

Daphne couldn’t help the small smirk that crossed her lips at Harry shutting Draco up so nonchalantly.

Harry held out his hand to Daphne with a soft smile. “Would you fancy a walk, Daphne?”

“Very much so.” Daphne gently lay her hand in Harry’s, as was proper etiquette in the Pureblood circles. With a smile, Daphne stood up and looped her arm with Harry’s as the two walked for the large entryway doors of the Great Hall.

Walking out into the entryway, Daphne and Harry were met by Fleur and Hermione. The two girls looped their arms together, mirroring Harry and Daphne, as the four of them left out the main doors of the castle together. The chilly February wind was blocked out by Warming Charms as the foursome made their way down the stone staircase and onto the grounds. The dusting of snow on the ground was blown away with but a thought, clearing a path for the group. Once they got to the area that Harry was leading them to, a spot not too far from the Black Lake, a large area was cleared of snow with a flex of Harry’s magic.

“Daphne,” Harry turned to look at Daphne with a warm smile as he pulled her into a gentle hug which Daphne happily returned. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He whispered into her ear as Daphne felt a small weight on her neck as Harry pulled away.

“Harry…” Daphne gasped as she saw the glittering silvery necklace and charm hanging from her neck. The center of the charm held a lovely emerald-like gemstone that was a green as deep as Harry’s eyes, which made Daphne smile. She trailed her fingers over the charm for a moment before pressing herself flush against Harry’s chest and kissing him deeply.

Harry and Daphne’s lips separated a long moment later, both looking at each other with silly little grins.

“I take it that you like your gift?” Harry asked with a smile.

“I love it.” Daphne confirmed with a lovely smile, her fingertips tracing over the charm again. “What does it do?” She knew Harry wouldn’t give a gift that he hadn’t weaved some kind of magic into; that was just how her boyfriend was.

Harry chuckled as he told Daphne about the charms to detect poisons and curses. “Simple enough, but very useful to protect the ones I love.”

Daphne, Hermione, and Fleur all nearly swooned at Harry’s loving words.

In truth, Daphne, as many other Pureblood children, had been taught detection charms by her parents shortly after getting her wand. Anything like an unexpected gift or food left out anywhere, especially in the Slytherin dorms, was checked before being touched. Even if it was only a simple prank item from Zonko’s Joke Shop, it was best to know beforehand, as no one wanted to be the butt of a joke or humiliated…that was a quick way to see your reputation fall within Slytherin House. The other consequences of not being thorough in checking could be FAR worse than mere humiliation, depending on the poison, potion, or curse within the item or foodstuff in question.

‘But with this gift…’ Daphne thought to herself with a smile as she traced the charm of her necklace with her fingers again. Even if someone managed to place a curse on something innocuous in class or managed to poison food in the Great Hall, Daphne would be warned before even touching any of it. ‘…Harry wants to protect me even if he’s not around.’ It was a proof of love and care that made Daphne’s heart flutter beneath her breast.

“But I do have one more gift for all three of you.” Harry smiled at his girlfriends. Seeing that he had Fleur, Hermione, and Daphne’s attention, Harry clapped his hands once, removing all of their Warming Charms. A brief chill touched them before it was blocked out again, the air around them becoming pleasant in temperature. A second later and the grass beneath their feet burst into a field of gorgeous flowers. There were flowers of every color: pinks, reds, yellows, blues, purples, oranges, and white. The air filled with the scent of spring and with a bright laugh, Harry fell backwards into the flowers making several petals scatter throughout the air around him.

“Harry…” Hermione dropped down next to her boyfriend with a beautiful laugh and captured his lips in a warm kiss.

Fleur ran her fingers through her silvery-blonde hair and tossed it back in the ‘spring breeze’ alighting flower petals along the lengthy locks. “How beautiful~” She smiled warmly at Harry giving them a lovely spring day instead of the cold and dreary winter that lingered for so long in the Scottish Highlands. With a musical laugh, Fleur let herself fall back next to Harry and send more flower petals scattering with the gentle breeze. The moment that Hermione freed Harry’s lips, Fleur gently turned him to face her and captured his lips for a lengthy kiss of her own.

“Brilliant.” Daphne had a beautiful smile on her lips as she enjoyed the spring breeze for a moment. With a little giggle, she walked over to Harry and dropped to the flowers. Without a bit of hesitation, Daphne moved forward a little and gently lifted Harry’s head before placing it on her lap. Looking into Harry’s emerald eyes, Daphne began to run her fingers through his messy, dark hair with a loving smile. “It’s perfect, Harry~” She thanked him for a wonderful Valentine’s Day as the four of them shared it, and their love, together.

“I aim to please.” Harry chuckled as he relaxed under Daphne’s gentle ministrations, while Hermione and Fleur cuddled into his sides and gently trailed their hands over his chest.

-Leaky Cauldron ~ Evening-

Tonks, her hair a vivid pink and only reaching her shoulders at the moment, let out a little sigh as she’d finally gotten off her shift. It had been absolutely boring today, nothing but desk work and filling out forms and reports. “I know they said being an Auror wasn’t always exciting, but today was like being in detention at Hogwarts again.”

“That does sound boring.” A VERY familiar voice spoke up from a person in a cloak sitting alone at the table that Tonks was passing.

“Merlin…” Tonks sighed before she moved the chair across from the cloaked person with wandless magic and then plopped down into it. “Why are you here and not at Hogwarts, Harry?” She looked at her boyfriend with a flat stare.

Harry smiled from beneath the hood of his cloak. “Well I felt like we should do something together for Valentine’s Day, Nym.”

Tonks blinked at that and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Right… It is Valentine’s Day. Mum and Dad were talking about having a special dinner out tonight.”

“I made something for you.” Harry grinned as he held out his closed hand.

“You didn’t need to, Harry.” Tonks couldn’t help but smile as she accepted what Harry was holding. Her hair turned from pink to orange, to red, to purple, before going back to pink as she saw what Harry had put in her palm. A beautiful silvery ring with a purple amethyst-like gemstone set into it. “H-Harry…?” Tonks couldn’t help but feel her heart speed up at seeing the ring in her hand. “Aren’t you a bit young to be trying to put a ring on me?” She tried to make a joke to slow her own heartbeat.

Harry chuckled, having seen Tonks’s reaction to his gift and enjoyed the rapid color changes of her hair. “Maybe, maybe not.” The two locked eyes, sharing a conversation without words for a moment.

Tonks smiled as she slipped the gorgeous ring onto her right ring finger. “Then we’ll consider it a promise for later.” She admired the ring on her finger with a warm grin. ‘I’ll leave the left ring finger for the engagement ring in the future.’ Tonks thought to herself with a soft chuckle. “It’s gorgeous, Harry.”

“Glad you like it, Nym.” Harry gave her a warm smile. “It’ll alert you to any curse on objects that you’re about to touch or any poison in food or drink that you are about to eat.”

“Mad-Eye has already drilled checking everything before I touch it into my head over the last couple of years.” Tonks let out a beleaguered sigh at her former mentor’s paranoia. “Being able to do it wandlessly actually got a nod of approval from the old nutter.”

Harry chuckled at Tonks’s expression, having heard from her about Mad-Eye Moody’s paranoia and intense tutelage over the last couple of years. “So, Nym, how do feel about an evening out in London with me?”

Tonks raised an eyebrow at Harry’s offer. “Are you sure that you should be out so late?” She knew he’d snuck out of Hogwarts, after all.

“It’s fine.” Harry waved off her concern. “It’s Valentine’s Day, we should do something fun, right?”

“Well, I’m convinced!” Tonks laughed brightly as she stood up from her chair.

Harry copied her and the two left the Leaky Cauldron together, hand-in-hand. As soon as they stepped out onto Charring Cross Road, both of their clothes changed to more non-magical styles under their magic. Tonks’s interpretation of magic as ‘change’ made such simple transfiguration very easy. Harry was simply using his personal inanimate-to-inanimate transfiguration spell that covered all changes between inanimate objects.

“So, where to?” Harry asked and Tonks gave him a once over with approving purple eyes. Harry, despite being a bit taller than average for his age, knew that ‘going out on the town’ with Tonks with his normal appearance would draw looks from others. A rather simple charm made Harry appear close to the same age as Tonks to the eyes of everyone that looked at him without magical scrutiny.

“Lucky me~” Tonks said with a little purr in her voice, easily imagining this would be what Harry looked like in a couple more years. She could see through the charm if she tried, but for now, she was going to enjoy the ‘eye candy’ that Harry was giving her. “Follow me, Harry…” She started pulling him along with a grin. “I’m gonna show you all sorts of fun things to do in London’s nightlife!”

Harry grinned as he let Tonks pull him along. “Can’t wait!”

It would be a night of new experiences for Harry, and a wonderful time for the couple to make a special Valentine’s Day.

-Thursday, February 16th ~ Defense Against the Dark Arts Class-

“Confringo!” Alastor launched the Blasting Curse at Harry suddenly with his wand held under his opposite arm to obscure it with the sleeve of his cloak.

Harry side-stepped the curse, the crackling orange spell careening through the air and towards the far wall. A nearly invisible line of magic extended from Harry’s index finger to intercept the curse and redirect it back towards Moody.

“Protego!” Alastor conjured the magical shield and the Blasting Curse exploded against the defensive spell. “Constant Vigilance!” He said loudly to the class, his false eye spinning around to make sure every student was watching. “An attacker isn’t going to try to assault you upfront and proper like a Duel. They’ll hide their wand, come at you from behind, or even come at you with their comrades! You have to remain vigilant against the dangers that come from those that are more than willingly to use a wand to take what they want.”

The class made notes on Alastor’s words. “Now, we’ll begin practicing countering unseen spells.” He told the class, moving from demonstration to practical teaching, which the retired Auror believed to be the best way to teach.

It had certainly made him one of the best DADA Professors in recent years and most students respected the man, despite his paranoia.

Alastor’s false eye spun and then focused on the door to the classroom before seeming to follow something in the corridor outside. “Potter, line the students up and have them go one by one! Random spells, nothing lethal!” He hobbled over to the wooden door and slowly opened it, sticking his head out carefully at first before slipping out of the classroom entirely.

“Alright,” Harry called out to the class after tearing his eyes away from the door. His words got everyone else’s eyes to leave the door as well. “As Professor Moody said, line up one by one along the right wall. You’ll walk a lap around the classroom and I’ll randomly cast spells at you. Dodging or blocking the spells is the goal, if you get hit, keep going.”

“Yes!” The class responded promptly to Harry in his position as TA.

Harry already knew what Moody had left for after only a quick check with his personal Locator spell. Karkaroff had been walking through the corridor outside, likely having come into the castle to talk to Dumbledore…or Snape. The retired Auror clearly didn’t trust the High Master of Durmstrang and saw him as the Death Eater that he’d been back in the Seventies. Any time the two men were in the same room, Moody’s false eye would track Karkaroff the entire time. When Moody noticed Karkaroff occasionally walking through Hogwarts, the paranoid man had started to tail the head of Durmstrang, watching everything the other man did until he returned to the ship floating on the edge of the Black Lake.

‘Surely, Karkaroff isn’t trying anything nefarious within Hogwarts? Not with both Moody and Dumbledore here.’ Harry thought to himself while the students lined up along the right wall of the classroom. ‘Just let Moody deal with him.’ He shook off his thoughts and focused on the class instead.

-February 24th ~ Morning-

“Has anyone seen Luna?” Harry asked, having not seen his little sister today. “I thought that she’d come down to breakfast with her friends or something, but she’s not here.” He’d even looked across the other tables to check for Luna’s long blonde hair and short stature.

“I haven’t.” Hermione shook her head once, now looking around the Great Hall too.

Astoria looked around as well. “I thought she was just running late this morning.”

Tracy looked confused. “We haven’t seen Fleur this morning either.”

“That is odd.” Daphne said as she glanced at the other Beauxbatons students at the Ravenclaw table and didn’t see Fleur. “Maybe she’s preparing for the Task?”

“The Second Task is shortly after breakfast.” Hermione reasoned as she looked back at her friends. “Perhaps Fleur didn’t feel much like eating?”

Tracy nodded once. “I definitely wouldn’t. I’d be way too nervous.”

Harry returned to his breakfast while watching the doors to the Great Hall closely for any sign of Luna.

By the time breakfast was over and the students and faculty were leaving the Great Hall for the stands on one side of the Black Lake. Harry was worried, as were Hermione, Daphne, Tracy, and Astoria.

“Mr. Potter, please following me to the Champion’s Tent.” Flitwick called out to Harry as soon as he saw the youngest Champion in the entryway.

“Yes, Professor.” Harry said, sharing a brief hug with Hermione and Daphne each, and affectionately patting Astoria’s head. He accepted Tracy’s playful clap on the shoulder and followed after his Head of House.

Flitwick looked at Harry as they walked together towards the Black Lake. “I’m sure you already have a plan for this task, Mr. Potter?”

Harry nodded once. “Yes, Professor.” He was still wondering where Luna was.

“Very good.” Flitwick smiled as they reached the Champion’s tent. “I’ll look forward to seeing how you overcome this challenge.”

Before Flitwick could walk away, harry spoke up. “Professor?”

Flitwick looked back at Harry. “Yes, Mr. Potter?”

“Have you seen Luna today?” Harry asked, his worry clear on his face.

“I only saw her last night, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick informed him.

“Oh…” Harry said as he entered the tent. When he entered the tent he was nearly tackled by Fleur who was in a bathrobe for some reason.

“Harry!” Fleur looked like she was on the verge of tears. “Gabby! They took Gabby!”

Harry blinked and took a second to process what his girlfriend had just said. “WHAT?!” He thundered as he pulled Fleur into a tight embrace as his rage nearly became tangible and the very air shook. “Then…Luna…” The bright ball of light that only Harry could see burst into existence as he cast his personal Locator spell. “Luna Lovegood!” The ball lit up and raced to the edge of its range from where Harry was standing and it was pointing straight at the Black Lake, even angling itself low to the ground to indicate that Luna was beneath the surface.

The air whipped around and Krum actually staggered back at the edge of the Champion’s tent.

Everyone in the stands saw the Champion’s tent flapping wildly in a powerful wind that they couldn’t feel from the distance they were at.

“What’s going on?” Hermione wondered, looking at Daphne, Tracy, Astoria, and the Ravenclaw fourth years that sat around them in the stands.

“I don’t know…” Daphne shook her head while loud murmurs erupted from the stands at the sudden movement from the Champion’s tent.

Dumbledore, Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman, and Percy Weasley (filling in for the ill Mr. Crouch again it seemed) rushed into the Champion’s tent.

“What’s going on here?!” Dumbledore’s raised voice got the three Champions’ attention. “Mr. Potter, please calm down!”

Harry looked at the five judges and all of them, except Dumbledore, visibly flinched backwards. Harry’s magic was palpable and all five of them felt the rage within as it brushed past them. “You took Luna and Gabrielle?” He asked them point blank. “You took our little sisters?!” The way Harry’s voice made the air tremble was a testament to how close he was to absolutely losing his temper. “You put them in danger?!”

Bagman was sweating like he was in the middle of the desert at midday and visibly shaking.

Percy’s face had lost all color, becoming a pasty white as he stared wide-eyed at Harry.

Karkaroff looked like he wanted to bolt, his eyes wide as he shuffled slightly behind Dumbledore.

Maxime was standing tall still, but her impressive height was not doing anything to make her feel tall under the presence of Harry’s overwhelming magic.

“Please calm down, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore requested again.

A sharp and intense heat nearly made the air hiss as Fleur’s panic and worry for Gabrielle ignited her own rage. “Past an hour the prospects black… Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back!” She spat the line from the Golden Egg at the judges, tiny feathers starting to emerge from her arms beneath her bathrobe, unseen by anyone.

“J-Just res-rescue them…” Bagman stuttered out in a near panic. “You j-just have to rescue them… Th-They’ll be fine…”

“Start the Task…” Harry rumbled out, not giving a damn if it wasn’t the official time to start yet.

Dumbledore, seeing that the situation had calmed to a degree, nodded to Harry, Fleur, and Viktor. “Please, head to the dock and await the whistle.”

The five judges left the Champion’s tent and headed for their table quickly.

Fleur, Harry, and Viktor exited the Champion’s tent a moment later, both Fleur and Viktor still in their bathrobes while Harry was wearing his normal Hogwarts robes. They walked onto the wooden dock and stood side-by-side, looking over the dark waters of the Black Lake. Viktor tossed off his bathrobe, showing off an old style one piece swimsuit in Durmstrang’s colors. Fleur let her bathrobe fall off her body, revealing a skintight silver one piece swimsuit that got quite a loud round of appreciative sounds from the stands that were packed with students, faculty, and visitors here to see the Second Task in person.

“Hurry up.” Harry said under his breath, but his magic carried his words straight to the judges as if he was standing right in front of their table. With barely a thought Harry’s robes turned into simple black swim trunks.

In the stands, more than a few girls blushed and giggled at seeing Harry shirtless. Hermione and Daphne both focused on Harry’s form, drinking in the sight. It was the only reason that neither of them ‘tsked’ at the other girls.

“W-Well,” Bagman spoke, his voice noticeably shaky. “All of the Champions are ready for the Second Task, we’ll be-begin on my whistle…” He held up the whistle to show the crowd briefly, though most weren’t close enough to see his hand shaking. They will ha-have one hour to recover what was t-taken from them. On the count of th-three… One… Two… Three!” Bagman blew the whistle loudly.

Viktor waved his wand over himself and his upper body transfigured into that of a shark. The Durmstrang Champion leapt into the water and vanished beneath the lake with a splash.

“Point me, Gabrielle Delacour!” Fleur had her wand on the flat of her palm. Her rosewood wand spun once before snapping to a specific direction. Without a word, Fleur’s expression changed, becoming excited as she literally skipped across the surface of the Black Lake following where her wand was pointing.

Harry still had his Locator spell active and noticed it was pointing in the same direction as Fleur had gone. He used water walking to sprint across the surface of the Black Lake, just like Fleur was skipping across the surface.

Fleur was taking the surface route not only to try and save time, but also to avoid being submerged in the cold waters of the Black Lake. As a Veela, with her magic so closely aligned to fire, being submerged deep into the cold waters would only hamper her.

Harry sprinted past Fleur, following his Locator spell, and when the ball of light dropped straight down, Harry put to use what he’d learned from Jarel in the Caribbean. He dove into the water and shot straight down through the water as if it was eagerly helping him along. The light from the surface dimmed to nearly nothing in only a moment with how fast Harry was descending into the depths. Barely a thought had a powerful Lumos Charm appear above Harry’s head, illuminating everything around him for several meters.

A swarm of Grindylows rose up from the water weeds on the bottom of the lake and rushed for the bright light angry at being disturbed in their dark home.

Harry had no time nor concern for the aquatic little monsters and with a wave of his hand he unleashed a spell that he’d also learned from Jarel. The Grindylows were shredded to bloody chunks as the water they were passing through spun rapidly at such speeds that the dark water became a massive cloud of white bubbles. The red of blood among the white bubbles vanished into the darkness as the spell ended and the water went still again.

Harry nearly shot through the waters with the underwater magic he’d learned in the Caribbean and, following his Locator spell, soon found a village of merpeople. He only glanced at the residents of the lake bottom village as he traversed the water and found a crude statue of a merperson roughly hewn from a boulder. But it was the three people tied to the statute that had Harry’s attention.

Luna, Gabrielle, and Padma were tied to the stone statue with thick seaweed-like vines. All of them floated in the water, unmoving and looking as if they were asleep. Harry kicked the water once and cleared the entire distance of the village square that the huge statute resided in, startling the merfolk at his speed. Clearly none of them had expected the Champions to reach the village in such a short time.

Harry quickly checked on Luna, running his magic over her and finding that she was unharmed aside from the enchanted slumber she was in. It was the same for Gabrielle when he checked on her, but as he did so, several of the merfolk aimed sharp tridents and harpoon-like weapons at him, approaching him with snarls that revealed their sharp, crooked, yellow teeth.

“One only…” The largest of the merfolk threatening Harry said in barely understandable English.

Harry, unable to talk beneath the water even with the spells he was using, merely eyed the merperson that had spoke to him. I the next instant, all of the warriors were flat on the lakebed, pressed into the silt and muck. The heavy pressure coming from the spell Harry was holding them under made the water around them churn harshly, but not fatally. Pointing his finger at the seaweed vine holding Luna to the statute, Harry used his ‘Harpoon’ spell to sever it easily and take Luna into his arms. He was about to free Gabrielle as well, but that turned out to be unnecessary as a large sphere of swirling water came down from above.

“Harry!” Fleur’s voice barley reached Harry through the water, muffled and distorted. She’d made the water of the lake swirl around her, leaving a large pocket of air in the center for her to avoid being submerged and allowing her to breathe even deep beneath the surface of the Black Lake.

Harry nodded to Fleur and pointed to Gabrielle, then at the thick vine holding the young girl.

The vine split cleanly just a few centimeters from where it was tied to Gabby. The angry look on Fleur’s face being the source of the powerful effect. Fleur moved the swirling sphere of water closely and Gabrielle’s eyes snapped open as soon as she touched the air.

“Huuaa!” Gabrielle took a large breath and then coughed a few times before she was pulled into Fleur’s arms and hugged tightly.

“Gabby!” Fleur hugged her little sister, placing kisses atop her head, ignoring the soaked silvery-blonde hair at the moment.

“C-Cold…” Gabrielle shivered a bit as she snuggled into her sister’s arms.

Fleur, doing her best to control her emotions as she’d noticed that her sphere was rapidly shrinking with her change in mood after recovering Gabby, took a deep breath. Her soft smile appeared as she cast a Drying Charm on Gabrielle, followed by a Warming Charm to banish the chills of being submerged in the cold water for who knew how long. “Let’s go.” She held Gabby close and looked at Harry with the same soft smile.

Harry gave her a nod and Fleur directed her water sphere straight up again, rapidly disappearing from sight. Clearly her emotional desire to protect her little sister and get out of the lake was affecting the speed of her interesting spell. ‘Viktor Krum.’ Harry changed the target of his Locator spell to the other Champion and watched the ball of light swing to the right sharply, showing that Viktor had, for whatever reason, gone around in a longer path of the lake instead of straight towards the merfolk village. ‘Works for me.’ Harry thought, now knowing that no one was in the way of what he was about to do.

His anger would not subside unless he showed the judges and everyone else that had a hand in organizing the Triwizard Tournament just why it was a bad idea to touch Harry’s loved ones.

Harry held Luna close to his chest with his left arm and then sharply raised his right arm upwards above his head.

One the surface, the Second Task had been rather boring, so far. The surface of the Black Lake looked as it always did and there was no way to tell what the Champions were doing beneath the dark waters.

That was until the surface of the water broke and a swirling sphere of water spun above the surface. With a loud splash, the fast-moving water was thrown inn all directions, revealing Fleur Delacour standing on the water’s surface with her little sister in her arms. The Beauxbatons students and spectators gave a thunderous cheer at their Champion appearing first with her task completed.

But everything went silent a second later as the surface of the Black Lake vibrated before everyone’s eyes. The water exploded upwards in a massive wave that raced towards the shore. The wooden dock that the Champions had started at shattered into splinters from the power of the wave and only Dumbledore’s quick wand work managed to transfigure a large wall of earth for the wave to crash into, flooding the area between the Black Lake and the new wall.

The crowd erupted into yelling and screaming at the violent upheaval of water as it splashed over the shore of the lake and under the raised stands. But even that panic was silenced as everyone watched the Black Lake part in two in a line that had to be at least a dozen meters wide. Everyone in the audience could see all the way to the bottom of the lake as the walls of water held steady. The Giant Squid surfaced on the left side of the lake, its tentacles flailing from the disturbance of its habitat. The Durmstrang ship rocked violently at the opposite end of the lake as waves crashed into it.

“Wh-What’s THAT?!” Someone yelled out while pointing upwards towards the sky.

All yes turned upwards, many craning their necks as they watched the cloudy skies turn dark. Thick black clouds rumbling with thunder spread across the sky above the Black Lake. Had anyone checked, they’d notice that the supernatural weather didn’t even reach Hogwarts itself, localized only to the area of the Black Lake itself. Lightning flashed multiple times, the roar of thunder following each bolt as the winds began to howl.

Harry Potter, with Luna Lovegood in one arm, floated up from the bottom of the lake, his right hand still raised, clearly causing the localized devastation as his magic reverberated throughout the area. Luna was awake, dry, and seemed to be whispering something to Harry as he flew them across the parted Black Lake towards the judge’s table.

A lightning bolt struck right in front of the judges table with a crash of thunder.

“AAAUUHHH!!!” Ludo yelled in terror as he fell backwards, taking his chair with him in his terror.

Karkaroff had leapt out of his own seat and looked ready to run, but a second bolt dropped behind the judge’s table and the Durmstrang High Master staggered before collapsing onto his ass.

Percy had his head pressed to the table, both arms covering it, as he shook in terror.

Maxime and Dumbledore both faced the rage of Harry and his conjured storm as he flew closer to the shore. Running didn’t cross their minds, neither believing they needed to as Harry’s nature had proven merciful in the past at the First Task.

Harry lowered his right arm and a final bolt of lightning dropped from the black clouds to split the barrier that Dumbledore had erected in a blast of rock and dirt. The waters of the Black Lake slammed together, throwing up another massive spray as the entire surface of the lake roiled violently.

With Harry’s incredible display, it could be forgiven that many forgot about the SECOND enraged person that this Task had offended.

The water flooding the area around the lake hissed and steamed, drying up under extreme heat as clouds of thick steam billowed upwards towards the dispersing black clouds. The broken barrier of earth smoked for a moment before erupting into a powerful inferno of purple-yellow flames and became molten in only a few moments. The Veela Fire roared for a long moment, even as the molten earth hissed as it touched the lake water, before going out with a crackling snap.

Fleur was looking angrily at the sniveling form of Bagman, the nearly cowering form of Karkaroff, the shaking form of Percy huddled against the table, and her blue eyes nearly burned into Maxime’s and Dumbledore’s. “Do not EVER touch my family again.” Fleur said with an almost avian screech just beginning to enter her voice.

“Never put anyone I love in harm’s way again.” The judge’s table collapsed into sand-like sawdust, making Percy squawk as he fell forward into the fine wood dust, at Harry’s words.

“You have my word.” Dumbledore knew when to admit to a mistake, something he’d had to learn the hard way in his younger years…and he bowed his head towards Fleur and Harry.

“I am sorry that this Task has caused you such distress.” Maxime said, her deeper voice thick with genuine emotion as she saw the rage in the eyes of one of her favored students.

Luna, not enjoying seeing her big brother so angry, reached up and tapped his cheek with her index finger. “Harry, I’m okay.” She smiled at him as soon as he looked at her and anyone looking could see some of the tension instantly release from Harry’s shoulders.

“Fleur…” Gabby hugged her sister and whispered something to her in French.

Fleur looked into Gabby’s eyes for a long moment before letting out a long, slow exhale to calm down a bit. “For you.” She placed a gentle kiss on her little sister’s forehead.

Seeing that Viktor still hadn’t returned, though he did still have plenty of time left, Harry and Fleur took Luna and Gabrielle to the Champion’s tent with them. Madam Pomfrey quickly bustled over the instant she saw the four. Gabrielle was taken first, checked out with dozens of swishes from the Healer’s wand.

“Unconscionable, putting such a young child in the lake.” Pomfrey said with clear agitation as she conjured a fluffy robe around Gabrielle placed her into one of the cots on the far side of the tent.

Gabrielle found the fluffy robe to her liking as she giggled and rolled about in it adorably.

Fleur moved to join Gabrielle, but Madam Pomfrey held out her wand to begin using diagnostic charms. Fleur let out a sigh as she waited for a few moments for Pomfrey to finish, knowing that nothing was wrong with her after the Task.

“You’re alright…that’s good.” Pomfrey said with a short nod.

Fleur was sitting on Gabrielle’s cot only a few seconds later, pulling the little girl into her lap and beginning to sing softly to her.

“You next.” Pomfrey motioned to Luna and began to wave her wand over the Third Year student.

Luna only smiled at Madam Pomfrey as she let her work. “Harry, can we get something to eat after this? I haven’t eaten since dinner.”

“Sure, Luna.” Harry agreed with a little grin. “We’ll get the Elves to make you whatever you’d like.”

“You’re all clear, dear.” Pomfrey said to Luna as she pointed to the cot next to Gabrielle’s. “Please wait over there until the task is complete.”

“Okay.” Luna skipped over to the cot with a smile. Once she sat down, she quickly engaged Gabby and Fleur in conversation.

Harry let Pomfrey check him over without a care. Luna and Gabby were safe and that was all he cared about at the moment. Once Hogwarts resident Healer cleared him, Harry made his way over to the three girls and sat next to Luna with a smile.

Luna and Gabrielle were splaying with a green Kooni a few minutes later. Gabby was fascinated by the shikigami that Luna had summoned and Luna was happy to introduce ‘Leafy’ to the younger girl.

“I can’t believe they’d touch our family.” Fleur whispered to Harry softly, laying her head on his shoulder as they sat side by side on one of the cots, watching Gabby and Luna play around with the little spirit.

“They bloody well won’t do it again, if they know what’s good for them.” Harry assured her, holding her close with his arm around her shoulders. He wanted to believe Dumbledore’s promise, but Harry was protective of his family, it was just a part of his nature, and wouldn’t trust the Third Task of this tournament not to potentially do something equally foolish.

Time ticked by, but the hour for the Task wasn’t quite over just yet. Luna and Gabby continued to play around with ‘Leafy’, now playfully chasing after the little Kooni in the large Champions’ tent. Pomfrey was waiting just outside the entrance of the tent for Krum to emerge from the lake, the way her arms were crossed and her left foot lightly tapping on the ground gave away her worry.

Fleur was humming lowly as Harry’s hand around her shoulder lightly caressed her chest over her bathing suit, the material’s thinness a boon for enjoying his touches. Her own hand was trailing along his abs as the two cuddled together while they waited out the last several minutes.

“Viktor Krum appears from the lake!” Bagman’s voice, magically amplified once again, cried out at roughly the fifty-nine minute mark. “He has his person with him as well! All three Champions have succeeded in the Second Task!”

It was remarkable how much energy the man was able to put into his voice when he’d been cowering just a while back.

A minute later and both Krum and Padma were ushered inside the tent by Madam Pomfrey. Both were soaking wet from the lake, but were dried off with a wave of Pomfrey’s wand. Padma was checked over by at least a dozen different Charms before a fluffy robe appeared on her and the Indian witch snuggled into the warmth as she sat on a cot near Fleur and Harry.

Krum allowed Pomfrey to check him over, but he waved away the fluffy robe before she could conjure it, not at all bothered by the temperature within the Champions’ tent.

Five minutes later and the three Champions stood in front of the remade judge’s table to receive their scores.

All five wands raised and Harry received four ‘10’s and a ‘6’ from Karkaroff, though the Head of Durmstrang noticeably wouldn’t make eye contact with Harry.

Fleur took her four ‘10s’ without changing her expression, but nearly snorted derisively at Karkaroff’s ‘5’. The man was absolutely petty about this tournament and wasn’t going to score any event fairly.

Krum got a myriad of scores. A ‘9’ from Dumbledore for his use of Human Transfiguration to a successful degree, even if it hadn’t been perfect. He received a ‘10’ from Bagman, the man clearly not planning to upset anyone else today. ‘8’ was formed in the air above Maxime’s wand in a light blue ribbon. Percy gave him a ‘10’ as well, muttering something quietly about respecting the judges. Not surprising anyone, Karkaroff gave Krum a ‘10’ as well.

“There you have it, folks, the Champion to take first place in the Second Task is Viktor Krum with forty-seven points!” Bagman announced loudly to the audience, getting a loud cheer from the Durmstrang contingent and the fans that had come to watch Krum compete.

There were more than a few boos from the crowd at the unfair scoring, but they were drowned out by the raucous cheering.

In the highest seats of the stands stood a man in a nondescript black cloak. He didn’t stand out at all, looking to be just another spectator, but beneath his cloak his body was trembling at what he’d witnessed today.

‘I must tell the Dark Lord about Potter’s power!’ Barty thought to himself as he kept seeing the spectacle of the Black Lake parting and the storm crashing overhead, all from Harry’s magic. He quickly moved towards the stairs while the rest of the audience was only beginning to stand up and move themselves. No one thought it strange that someone was trying to get out of the stands first, as the man in the black cloak wasn’t the only one already close to the stairs now that the Task was over.

Barty had no idea just what showing his memory to his Master would set in motion.

-End Chapter-

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You DO NOT mess with Harry’s family!

If splitting the Black Lake in half doesn’t drive that into the tournament organizer’s heads, then I don’t know what will!

Voldemort is about to realize that Harry isn’t someone he can underestimate at all! But we all know just how well Voldemort reacts to anyone that can stand up to him.

Aside from the Second Task, Valentine’s Day was quite nice this year! Harry gave his girlfriends gifts, spent special time with them in an early spring conjured by his magic, and even snuck out of Hogwarts…again…to spend the evening with Tonks!

Such a doting boyfriend he is!

How will the rest of Fourth Year play out with the changes that’ve already been made?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!