- The Third Task -
After exploring the grounds and showing a thrilled Gabrielle the Whomping Willow, they all returned to the castle for lunch. Introducing Cho and Marietta to Sirius and the Delacour women had been quite the event, as they gave a few embarrassing stories from their years of friendship with Harry.
The meal was wonderful, and passed by far too quickly for any of their liking. Soon, Cho and Marietta had to return to class, while Harry and Sirius took the Delacour women on a tour of the castle's interior.
Eventually, it was time for them to return to the Great Hall for the evening feast, where everyone was excitedly waiting for the Third Task to start.
Up at the Staff table, Harry spotted Cornelius Fudge sitting next to a cheerful Ludo Bagman as a much larger feast appeared on all of the tables. It took everyone far longer to get through the feast, as they were all too busy talking about what they thought the Task would be, and placing bets on who would win.
Overhead, the enchanted ceiling began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, signaling that dusk was arriving and the Task would soon start. Dumbledore noticed the change and rose up from his seat at the center of the Staff table, causing the entire Hall to fall silent as everyone stared at him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! In a few minutes' time, I will be asking you all to make your way down to the Quidditch Pitch for the Third and Final Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament." He declared, looking out at the sea of faces. "Will the Champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium?"
Harry and Fleur gave their goodbyes to their family and friends amidst cheers and well-wishes, before walking away from the Ravenclaw table as Krum joined them from the Slytherin table. All around them, people were applauding as the Champions left the Great Hall with Bagman.
…
Walking down the stone steps of the castle and onto the grounds, Bagman came over to walk beside Harry.
"Feeling alright, Harry?" He asked, trying to be subtle about it but failing miserably. "Confident?"
"Yes, sir." Harry replied, giving a nod as they walked onto the Quidditch Pitch, which was now completely unrecognizable. Twenty-foot-tall hedges ran all the way around the edge of the Pitch, with a single gap right in front of the Champions.
Five minutes later, the stands started to fill with hundreds of excited voices and the loud rumbling of feet. By now, the sun had already set and the moon was shining overhead, casting shadows on the maze.
Minerva, Moody, and Flitwick came walking into the stadium as they approached Bagman and the Champions. Pinned on their chests were large, luminous red stars that shined brightly in the dark.
"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," Minerva informed them. "If you get in a difficult situation which you cannot get past, and you wish to be rescued…send up red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you."
The three Champions nodded in reply, their faces set as they prepared for what awaited them in the maze. They had been given an additional set of padded robes for the event, which were exact replicas of the ones they wore for the First Task.
"Off you go, then!" Bagman exclaimed, shooing off the three patrollers before pointing his wand at his throat and casting Sonorus.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome, to the Third and Final Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament! Before it begins, let me remind you all where the points currently stand!" All of the talking and laughing ceased as the who Pitch fell silent, hanging off Bagman's every word, who seemed to soak in the attention with glee.
"In FIRST PLACE, with 81 Points…is Mr. HARRY POTTER from Hogwarts School!" The loud cheers and applause from the Hogwarts students shattered the silence, sending the birds in the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the night sky.
Sirius's cheering could be heard nearby, the man making as much noise as he could, to the amusement of those around him.
"In SECOND PLACE, with 80 Points…is Ms. FLEUR DELACOUR from Beauxbatons Academy!" The Beauxbatons contingent cheered from a single group of powder-blue students gathered together. The male Hogwarts and Durmstrang students cheered loudly for Fleur, while the female students clapped politely.
Harry was barely able to make out the white-gold hair of Apolline and Gabrielle, who were next to the newly arrived Jacques, all of whom were cheering just as loudly as the Beauxbatons students.
"And in THIRD PLACE, with 68 Points…is Mr. VIKTOR KRUM from Durmstrang Institute!" The blood-red section where the Durmstrang students were roared in celebration for their Champion, though there was far less applause from the other two schools.
Waiting for the crowd to settle down, Bagman continued. "They will be entering the maze, based on their standing."
Motioning to Harry, he informed everyone. "As the leader in Points, Harry Potter will go in first." There were a few more cheers from the crowd at his name, which were quickly shushed by those around them. "After 30 seconds, Fleur Delacour will enter….And after 1 minute passes, Viktor Krum will be allowed to enter the maze."
"Hidden somewhere inside the maze, is the Tri-Wizard Cup…and whoever touches it first, will win the Tournament!"
When everything was ready, Bagman counted down. "On my whistle! Three…Two…ONE!" With a short blast of the whistle, Harry hurried forward into the maze's entrance as the crowd cheered him on.
- The Maze -
The towering hedges cast large black shadows across the path, and the further he moved away from the entrance, the less noise he heard from the crowd until everything fell dead silent. The only sound he could hear was his own breathing, and the wind rustling the branches of the hedges.
Pulling out his ebony wand, Harry cast one of the first spells he ever learned. "Lumos!"
Suddenly, the darkness surrounding him was pushed back as the ball of light floating overhead, illuminating his surroundings as he kept moving. After a few turns, the sound of Bagman's whistle echoed over the hedges, announcing Fleur's entrance into the maze.
"Point Me!" Harry cast, watching as his wand spun around on his open palm before pointing North. From what he remembered, the Cup was towards the center of the maze, which was Northwest of the entrance.
Turning right, Harry followed along the path as the area around him seemed to grow darker. Eventually, he spotted a golden mist covering the path up ahead.
'It's the Limbo Mist!' He thought, remembering it from one of the books he read on previous Tournaments. It was a typical trap that was commonly used in tournaments like this, meant to slow the Champions down more than anything else.
The Limbo Mist causes anyone who walks into it feel as if the effects of gravity were reversed, making it seem like they were hanging upside down. The only way to get through it, was to keep a cool head and continue walking until they reached the other side.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the mist.
"WOAH!" He shouted as the world seemed to turn upside down. His feet now glued to the grass, which felt more like the ceiling, as the twinkling night sky now felt like it had become the ground.
Keeping himself focused, Harry pulled his foot away from the ground before planting it a step further.
Continuing with the other foot, it took almost a full minute to cross the small patch of golden mist. As he finally stepped out of the Limbo Mist and the world seemed to right itself, the sound of Bagman's whistle went off, signaling Krum's entrance into the maze.
Sighing, Harry took a moment to shake off his nerves before continuing further down the path. As he rounded another corner, he paused at the sight in front of him.
Lying on the ground…were the dead bodies of Fleur, Cho, and Marietta. His heart raced for a moment as his mind tried to figure out what he was seeing, before it came to him.
'A fucking Boggart!' He raged, jabbing his ebony wand at the scene as he incanted, "Riddikulus!"
There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifting boggart exploded in a wisp of smoke from him overpowering the spell in his anger.
Thoroughly pissed off, Harry stomped down the path as he took deep breaths to calm down. Suddenly, he spotted an orange glow nearly, and the distinct booms of fireballs exploding.
"FLEUR!" Harry shouted, racing off in that direction. Their practice in the Room of Requirement included Fleur showing him what she could do with the fireballs her Veela side could use. And the sounds were unmistakable to his ears.
Reaching a junction of multiple paths, he spotted Fleur fully transformed into her Veela form as she threw fireballs at Krum, who was using one of the hedges as cover while he threw spells at her.
Pointing his wand at the back of Krum, Harry cast, "Stupefy!" as Krum's voice yelled out, "Crucio!"
Fleur gave a shout as the spell hit her, causing her muscles to spasm as she fell. Luckily, Krum dropped like a brick as the Stunning spell knocked him out, ending the Cruciatus immediately.
Racing to his girlfriend's side, Harry called out to her. "Fleur! Fleur, are you okay?"
She looked in bad shape. There were cuts all over her body, and her limbs kept twitching from the Cruciatus despite the limited exposure.
Pulling her eagle-like head onto his lap, Harry began casting what minor healing charms he knew as her transformed body slowly stopped twitching before it shifted back into her human form.
Sapphire-blue eyes opened slowly, staring straight up into the unmistakable emerald-green of her boyfriend as she blinked. "'Arry?" Her tired voice called out, and it took her a second before her mind started working properly. "What happened?"
Sighing in relief that she was conscious, he replied. "Krum attacked you. He used the Cruciatus…" He gently ran his hand through her sweaty hair before helping her sit up. "How are you feeling?"
Glancing down at her wounds that were still bleeding, she noticed that her blood was soaking into her robes, turning the powder-blue into a dark red. Frowning, she replied. "Not good…I spent too much magic when I transformed. I don't think I have enough to continue…"
She sounded disappointed in herself, and Harry quickly pulled her into a hug, ignoring the blood on her robes. "Don't be upset, Flower. You did everything you could to survive, and I couldn't be more proud of you."
Kissing her on the lips, her frown slowly turned into a smile as she returned it.
Accidentally putting pressure on one of her cuts, Fleur winced into the kiss.
Pulling back, he glanced worried at the blood still seeping out. "We need to get you to a Healer. Do you think you can send up red sparks?"
Fleur nodded before pausing, "I don't have my wand…"
Looking around from their position on the ground, Harry spotted it nearby. "There it is…"
Grabbing it, he handed her the wand before slowly pulling her to her feet and throwing her arm over his shoulder to steady her swaying body. "I'll do the same for Krum." He added, sparing a quick look at Krum's motionless form.
Pulling out his wand, Harry waited for Fleur to get ready before they raised their wands into the sky.
"Periculum!"
Brilliant red sparks shot from the tips of their wands, soaring over the hedges before exploding like fireworks. Moments later, Minerva and Moody came flying over the hedges on brooms.
Landing on the ground, they glanced at the scorched area and the burning hedges. "Is everyone alright?" Minerva asked, worriedly noticing Fleur's injuries and Krum's body nearby. "What happened?"
"Krum attacked Fleur, used the Cruciatus…I stopped some of the bleeding, but she needs to see Madam Pomfrey." Harry replied, keeping his responses short as he helped Fleur over to the back of Minerva's broom. Behind them, Moody levitated Krum's unconscious body into the air.
After Fleur gently sat down on the broom, Minerva turned back to Harry. "Will you be continuing?"
Before he could reply, Fleur spoke up. "Of course, he will." Seeing Harry's glance, she continued. "You're not going to just give up, are you mon amour (my love)?"
Seeing the glint in her eye, he didn't try to refute her. "I guess not…"
Minerva and Moody chuckled at the couple's exchange before taking to the sky. "See you soon, 'Arry!" Fleur called out above the hedges before they disappeared.
"…Fuck."
…
Continuing on through the maze, using the Point Me spell to guide him, Harry soon came across a sphinx pacing back and forth, blocking his path.
It had the body of a massive lion, with great clawed paws and a long, yellowish tail that ended in a brown tuft. Its head was that of a woman's, wearing in a golden headdress reminiscent of the ancient pharaohs.
Carefully approaching her, Harry made sure not to appear threatening and risk her attacking. Once he was within a few feet, she spoke in a deep, hoarse voice. "You are very near your goal…The quickest way to it is past me."
Continuing her pacing, her almond-shaped eyes stayed fixed on his face. "If you wish to pass me, you must answer my riddle. Answer correctly on your first guess, and I'll let you pass…answer wrongly, and I will attack…remain silent, and I will let you turn around and walk away unscathed."
Sighing, Harry prepared himself as he replied. "Okay…Can I hear the riddle?"
"What walks on Four legs at dawn,
Two legs at noon,
And on Three legs in the evening?"
It was a famous riddle from Greek mythology, and one that Harry remembered vaguely from his past life.
"Man."
The sphinx smiled broadly as she moved aside, allowing him to pass.
"Thank you!" Harry said as he walked past her, making sure to keep an eye on her to see if she would attack him from behind. Continuing to use the Point Me spell as navigation, he wondered how much farther he had left to go until he saw a light up ahead.
The Tri-Wizard Cup sat gleaming on a small pedestal in the center of the maze. Pushing down the desire to sprint to it, Harry kept his pace steady, working to his benefit as an Acromantula jumped out from another path that intersected his.
"Incarcerous!" Small metal chains were conjured from the tip of his ebony wand that flew at the spider, wrapping around its body and binding its limbs. The chains wouldn't last very long with how little magic he put into them, but all he needed was to keep the spider bound long enough to get to the Cup.
Stepping past the bound Acromantula that was struggling against the chains, Harry pointed his ebony wand at the Cup before casting a diagnostic charm that Fleur had taught him. It was a spell mainly used by Enchanters and Enchantresses to see what magic was already on items that they planned to add their own charms to, and it worked perfectly for what he needed.
The spell revealed exactly what he expected, that there were two Portkey charms on the Cup, each one a one-time use that would activate the moment he touched it. The one underneath would be the original Portkey charm meant to take him back to the entrance of the maze, while the other would most likely take him to wherever Voldemort was at.
'Yeah…fuck that.' Harry thought, going through the wand motions as he cast the incantation out loud. "Finite Incantatem!"
Whoever had cast the second Portkey spell obvious put some effort into it, and Harry had to use more magic than he would have liked to dispel it.
Thankfully, with his older body he now had enough magic to do things like this. Had this happened while he was still in his younger body, he would have never been able to dispel a Portkey charm.
Casting the diagnostic spell again, he was satisfied to see the original charm underneath was still there before he reached out and grabbed the handle. Instantly, Harry felt a jerk behind his navel as his feet left the ground, the world around him spinning into a blur.
Making sure to keep his wand in hand, Harry waited until the spinning stopped and he landed back on solid ground before looked around. Suddenly, a roar of cheers and applause filled his ears as everyone in the crowd leapt to their feet.
"HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!" Everyone chanted as several people rushed over to him.
Spotting Fleur's white-gold hair a second before she slammed into him, Harry had to groan as the air was almost forced out of his lungs.
"You did it!" She whispered in his ear, leaning back to smile brightly before pulling him into a heated kiss as the crowd cheered and whistled. Her tongue forced its way past his lips as she dominated his mouth with an intensity that surprised him, before he used his own to try and futilely battle hers.
When they finally broke for air, panting breathlessly, Cho and Marietta led the way as Sirius and the Delacours came over to greet him. "Way to go, Pup!" Sirius cheered, throwing his arm over Harry's shoulder and ruffling his normally styled hair into a mess as Harry tried to swat it away.
Moments after Sirius let go, Harry had to brace himself as Cho and Marietta slammed into him, toppling them over onto the ground drawing laughter of the everyone watching.
"Congratulations, Harry!" "That was amazing!" The girls replied, smothering his face with kisses before they reluctantly got off him.
After he got back up, Minerva came over to hug him in congratulations. "I'm so proud of you!"
There was a tear in her eye as she smiled proudly, amazed at the transformation of the young man she once rescued from the Dursleys.
"Congratulations!" Fudge's voice boomed from a small stage that had been conjured in front of the entrance to the maze. "Come on up, Harry!" He motioned to a spot next to him.
The crowd parted for Harry as he walked by, hands patting his back and clapping as he stepped onto the stage next to the Minister.
"Here you are, one thousand Galleons prize and the Tri-Wizard Cup!" Fudge handed him a sack full of gold that thankfully felt as light as a feather.
After Harry took the gold, he grabbed onto one handle of the silver and blue Cup while Fudge held the other as Andy Smudgley and his cameraman stepped in front of the crowd to take a few photos for the Daily Prophet. When the last flash of light went off, and Harry walked ahead of Fudge back through the crowd towards Fleur, he noticed a peculiar sight.
Ludo Bagman, a man who always seemed cheerful and bounced around with a bright smile on his face, was glaring at Harry murderously. Confused, Harry's brow wrinkled as he noticed the man's hand pull out a wand.
A moment later, Harry's eyes went wide as he saw Bagman's tongue dart out of the corner of his mouth.
"GET DOWN!" Harry yelled, his shout causing everyone to reflexively duck at the same time Bagman's voice screamed.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A jet of sickly green light streaked across the sky, barely missing Harry before striking something behind him that dropped to the ground. Before anyone else could react, Jacques's wand was already pointed at the enraged Bagman, "Stupefy! Incarcerous!"
A red bolt of light moving too fast to dodge slammed into Bagman, throwing his entire body back like a ragdoll before landing unconscious in a heap as thick black chains wrapped around his limbs.
It was several moments before people started to make sense of what happened as someone called out, "The Minister!"
Wide-eyed, everyone turned to see Cornelius Fudge's dead body lying on the ground a few feet from Harry, his empty eyes staring up at the sky in frozen confusion as his bowler hat lay next to him. Screams filled the air as people started moving, some running from the stands while others ran towards Fudge and Bagman.
Through the insanity, Fleur and her family raced over with Sirius and the girls to drag Harry away from the scene, sprinting up to the castle where the other students were heading, while Jacques stayed behind to stand guard over the unconscious Bagman.
- Riddle Manor -
"WHERE IS HE?!" A small voice screamed into the midnight air, coming from a wrapped bundle of cloth on top of a small column next to a large cauldron, where a grotesque looking small body laid. "Potter should be here by now!"
"My Lord…" A gruff voice spoke up, stepping out of the shadows to reveal the face of Walden Macnair. "It seems that Barty has failed."
Silence filled the graveyard that they stood in, before the small voice replied. "Use the blood of Jenkins. She is still considered my enemy with her allegiance to Dumbledore's Order…I would have preferred Potter's blood, but I cannot hold off my return any longer."
"Yes, my Lord." Macnair replied, leaving for a few moments before returning with the stunned and floating form of Bertha Jenkins. Lighting the fire underneath the cauldron, he began the ritual.
"Bone of the Father, unknowingly given…"
- Timeskip: One Week Later -
Harry couldn't believe the morning's headline of the Daily Prophet.
HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED
RETURNS!
By: Andy Smudgley
The front-page article revealed what had happened after their mad dash back up to Hogwarts castle.
Aurors had arrived on scene moments later, and it was revealed that Ludo Bagman was in fact Bartemius Crouch Jr. under Polyjuice. The real Ludo Bagman's body was found dead at his home, all of his hair had been shaved off, and someone had carved the Dark Mark into his chest.
After a formal questioning under Veritaserum, Madam Bones led a team of Aurors to Riddle Manor and found the leftover traces of a dark resurrection ritual, the magic left at the scene identified as the Dark Lord Voldemort's.
The Wizengamot, led by the Pureblood Faction, tried to deny his return…until several attacks happened on prominent Pure-blood families with the Dark Mark floating above the ruins of their homes. After that, the once supporters of the Dark Lord stopped denying it.
After it was found out through Crouch Jr.'s testimony what his father had done, Crouch Sr. was arrested a mere week after being released from St. Mungo's, and now the man occupied a cell in Azkaban.
With a dead Minister, the Wizengamot called an emergency session and voted on a new interim Minister. Sirius and Dumbledore rallied together with several others and eventually got Madam Bones voted in.
The former Director of DMLE wasted no time in increasing the Aurors budgets, bringing dozens of formerly retired Aurors like Moody back into service.
Unfortunately, thanks in large part to Snape's strict requirements and his tendency to fail most students who weren't in Slytherin that tried to get into the N.E.W.T. Potions class, the Auror department hadn't seen any new recruits in years. The last recruit was a metamorphmagus named Tonks, who was now apprenticed directly under the reenlisted Senior Auror Moody.
…
Feeling Fleur's arms wrap around his neck as her head leaned on his shoulder, Harry sighed as he placed the Daily Prophet down on the table.
With everything happening, it was decided that the visiting schools would return to their countries early. And today was that day.
"It won't be for long…I'll see you soon, 'Arry." Fleur whispered into his ear as they slowly got up with everyone else to say goodbye to the visiting schools.
Harry had spoken with Sirius and the Delacours at length, and it was decided that he would be safer if he spent the summer in France, away from the escalating situation that Britain was facing. Meaning that he would only be at Hogwarts for a few more weeks before he was back together with his girlfriend again.
"I know…still, I'm going to miss you, Flower." Harry whispered back, pulling her into a soft, slow kiss as his arms wrapped around her waist.
From over her shoulder, a voice called out to Fleur. "Come on Fleur, we're going to be late!"
Reluctantly breaking the kiss, they turned to see Hermione waving her over to where the other Beauxbatons students were lining up to return to their carriage. Harry had barely spoken with Hermione over the last few weeks, she had been completely engrossed with spending as much time with her new boyfriend Cedric Diggory as she could.
While Harry was incredibly happy for his friend, he did miss getting to talk with her, and they shared a quick hug in goodbye before all of the Hogwarts students gathered to watch as the Beauxbatons carriage too off into the sky.
As the powder-blue carriage disappeared above the cloud-line, Harry felt two hands interlock their fingers with his. Looking at his sides, he smiled at the warm looks Cho and Marietta gave him.
"Come on, Harry. Let's go back inside." Cho said softly, gently pulling his arm as his two bestfriends led the way back into the castle.
- Headmaster's Office -
Inside the Headmaster's Office, Severus Snape paced back and forth in front of the desk as Dumbledore sat in his chair, a hand brushing Fawkes's feathers.
"Many of his inner circle have refused his call." Snape said, shaking his head from side to side. "The Dark Lord is furious, and there is little he can do when they hide behind their families' ancestral wards. He'll need to build back up his forces before attempting any attacks."
Dumbledore sighed, leaning back into his chair. "Then we still have some time to prepare…good."