Chapter Text
“He has made it through the first task, my lord.”
A sinister thrill went through Harry’s spine. Why was he happy about that? The dragon had almost killed him- what in the world did he have to be happy about? “And the other… artifacts?” It was Harry’s voice, but at the same time, he didn’t recognize it. The young wizard tried to look around, to gain some semblance of control- but his body wouldn’t move.
A creeping sensation of dread filled him as the other voice- Harry didn’t recognize the other man speaking – replied. “We have found the first one. M’lord, I am faithful but…. Are you sure it is wise to rely on them? They are….”
“Merlin’s final gift to wizard kind,” Harry said weakly. He was getting tired, which simply fed into his frustration. “Leave me for now. I need to rest… and feed. WORMTAIL.”
Harry’s eyes snapped open as the face of Peter Pettigrew hit him, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he was furious or nauseous… or both. “Where am I?” The Slytherin said out loud in part to reassure him that this was real- that he was really here. Then it all came back to him, and he forced his eyes closed as earlier events overwhelmed him.
Right. The first task.
Pain shot its way up his injured arm. How long had he been here? It couldn’t have been that long, but his entire body still hurt from trying to fly a dragon. I was right, Harry thought triumphantly before sinking back into his bed and wincing at the pain, but so, I guess, was Hermione. Not that he would ever admit that to her- being the Ravenclaw she was, the bookworm would never let him hear the end of it. Closing his eyes, Harry let out a weary breath before letting sleep overtake him again.
The next time he awoke, Draco was sitting at his bedside with a look on his face Harry couldn’t quite figure out. “You’re a reckless git.”
With a snort, Harry put his glasses back on and glanced around- of course, he was in the hospital wing. Sleep had overtaken him before, and he hadn’t been able to really figure out where he was. “You’re a stupid git, so I guess we’re both gits, huh?” When his friend didn’t answer, the young Slytherin glanced over and raised an eyebrow, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Draco’s expression morphed into something more neutral, “I’m glad you’re alright.”
Things hadn’t been the same since the night Harry’s name came out of the goblet. Briefly, he wondered if things would ever go back to how they had been. Harry was fully aware that Draco had been hanging out with Pansy, but he couldn’t prove that his friend was behind Pansy’s increased focus on making Hermione’s life miserable.
Merlin, he wished he could.
“I brought the homework you missed. Champions are exempt from exams, but we both know you’re too much of a swot to miss homework.”
Taking the books, Harry rolled his eyes, “I am not. It’s just common sense to want to learn magic.” There had been a hunger for more knowledge in magic since he had come to Hogwarts, and that had never really gone away, after all he was the young boy who had read all of his textbooks before coming to Hogwarts; getting sorted into Slytherin just meant embracing that ambition and rereading them a few times.
“Whatever, Potter. Maybe your other swot friend can help you keep up?”
“What’s wrong, Malfoy?” Harry drawled, they only used their last names when irritated- something was wrong, “Jealous?”
“You wish.” Draco rolled his eyes, “Want to play some exploding snap?”
Harry nodded in agreement.
------
His second day recovering saw Luna coming to visit him, and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her- the little sister he never thought he’d have, at least this is what he assumed having a sister was like; he was an orphan, and the closest thing he had to a sibling was Dudley, and well… No, that was awful.
“Hello, Harry. You’re wrackspurt free.” The blonde said and, after a moment, wasted no time in launching herself at him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “I’m so glad.”
He really hoped this was what it was like to have a sibling.
“I’m glad I’m wrackspurt free too.” Harry, who had never been comfortable with being touched except for Luna, said as he relaxed into her embrace, running his hand up and down the woman’s back gently. “Are you okay?”
“I am!” Luna said dreamily, “You did amazing in the first task, although I think Hermione might have a heart attack.”
“My heart is just fine, thank you.” Hermione said dryly as she approached them, “Hello, Harry.”
The feeling of relief at the sight of her was both soothing and kind of annoying, since when had he been relieved to see her? Deciding not to question it for right now, the young man forced his attention to the here and now, “I hope I didn’t make you miss too much homework, Granger.”
The bushy-haired witch gave him a tight-lipped smile, “Maybe next time you should listen to me about trying to out-fly a dragon.” But there was clear sounds of concern in her voice, “That was reckless, Harry!”
“But it worked, didn’t it?” Which might be the most unslytherin thing he’d ever said, Merlin, he sounded like a gryffindor. “What else was I supposed to do? It’s not like anyone else’s plan worked without a hitch.”
Silence filled the room as Hermione summoned forth a chair to sit on, and the three of them enjoyed each other's company. Luna spoke about her time with Hagrid outside of class, learning about magical creatures and how she had been avoiding most of the people bullying her, except…
“Ginny apologized to me.” The blonde Ravenclaw said softly, “It was very nice, maybe the Humdingers have finally left her alone.”
“She apologized? Just like that?” Harry asked. He didn’t know Ginny that well, but from what the twins had told him, she could be very stubborn.
“Right after the first task.” She confirmed with a nod, “I think she wants to be my friend again.”
“Again?” This time it was Hermione who asked the question, which, Harry supposed, was fair- she hadn’t been in the loop for any of this.
“We were friends in our first year, but she kind of pulled away last year…” Luna shrugged, “I think she was upset about something.”
“I’m sure it’ll all work out.” The Slytherin offered with a weak smile.
Something flashed through Luna’s eyes, and for a moment, Harry thought it might hope, but it was quickly replaced with Luna’s signature dreamy expression. “I hope so.”
-----
“You found it?” Harry rasped, but for another night it wasn’t Harry- he was someone else- someone Harry didn’t want to acknowledge. “You found the first of them??” he demanded again.
Before him was a Death Eater- the mask hiding what his voice gave away oh so clearly, he was afraid. “Y-yes, my lord. It was right where you hid it.” The Death Eater held a large rag in his hand and offered it up, almost as a sacrifice, “The first of them is ours.” But before he could speak further, it slipped from his hand, the cloth falling to reveal a scepter of some kind- it was hard to see from Harry’s position, but the man clearly was scared of it,
“You fool! Only a direct descendant of-” Whatever Harry was about to say was cut off as the Death Eater before him let out a blood-curdling scream and burst into flames, leaving nothing but a pile of bones behind. With a sneer, Harry summoned forth another servant and laughed. “Finally, War is mine!”
Harry awoke with a start, only to see Luna Lovegood and Theodore Nott staring at him expectantly, “W-what time is it?”
“After one.” Luna answered, “Hermione stopped by earlier, but you were asleep- she told me to tell you that she’d see you later.”
“Potter- glad you’re not dead.” Was all Nott said.
“Thanks.” The raven-haired wizard murmured dryly, “I rather like not being dead.” A cold dread washed over him as the dream he had replayed in his head- It was Voldemort, he was sure of it, but what did it mean? The idea of going to Snape filled him with dread; he had no idea how his head of house would react, and that wasn’t exactly a conversation he was looking forward to.
“Malfoy was playing with this in the common room. I guess he grabbed your things when you got hurt.” Theo snapped Harry out of his thoughts and handed him the golden egg, “I thought you might want to try to figure it out while you’re stuck here.”
Taking the Egg from him, Harry looked it over, finally twisting the top of it so it would open. He almost dropped it at the loud screeching noise. What in the bloody hell?
“Close it!” Nott snapped.
“That was Mermish.” Luna said, sounding a bit dazed, “It can only be truly perceived underwater.”
“So I need to… what, submerge it under water?” Harry asked no one in particular.
“The prefect's bathroom. I know the prefect, honestly, it’s just common sense to get on with the people in charge, and he lets me use the prefect bathroom when I don’t want to be bothered with the rest of you.” Theo paused, leaning back in the chair he had gotten for himself at some point, “Unless you plan to go for a midnight swim in the lake, I think it’s your best bet.”
With a resigned sigh, Harry nodded, “Give me the password.”
-----
The breakfast after the headline about him and Hermione came out found the Great Hall full of hushed whispers, and he could just tell they were about him. Walking over to the Slytherin table, Harry found an open seat next to Nott and pretended not to notice Draco looking at him with a mixture of disgust and anger. Whatever was going on with their friendship was beyond him right now- his arm still hurt from being impaled by the dragon's tail, and now he had to worry about this dragon.
Harry had, admittedly, lied to Hermione last night in the library- he couldn’t tell her what was in the egg because he didn’t know what was in it- instead of going to the prefects Bathroom he had bolted for the library; while Harry had no idea how he’d known Hermione was there, he just… did, and he had no reason to question it.
“Did you open the egg last night?” Theo asked as he prepared himself breakfast.
“No- I had… stuff to do,” Harry replied. His green eyes drifted over towards the Ravenclaw table and watched as Hermione had a semi-lively conversation with one of the Patil twins (he had no idea which Patil was in which house, as he’d only seen them in passing, really), and the sight made him relax a little.
Not that he’d admit it.
“Busy, huh?” There was a knowing tone to Nott’s voice that made the fourth year want to punch him in the face- but instead, he buried his face into his food and focused on eating. “Well, you'd better do it today- or else your study partner is going to skin you alive.”
Merlin wasn’t that the truth- Hermione had been nicer to him this year, maybe she thought the Triwizard tournament was worth a break; but the last three years they couldn’t be in the same room without a fight coming up; she seemed offended that anyone came close to her academically even if realistically she was smarter when it came to magical theory and books and he was all instinct and practical magic.
Sometimes it was really insufferable.
Harry chose not to reply; instead, he finished his breakfast and stood to head to his first class, “And Nott?”
“Yeah, Potter?”
“Call me Harry…. And uh, thanks. For your help.”
“Only if you call me Theo.”
“Deal.”
------
Harry loved Defense Against the Dark Arts; it was his favorite class by far, and this year was no exception. Professor Moody was a great teacher, although he was admittedly very paranoid, and today's class was about the unforgivable curses- Harry had never really thought about whether there was some magic out there that would make him uncomfortable… until today.
Watching the first two unforgivables, the Cruciatus and imperious curse, it was the third one that made him want to run from the room. The class so far had been Moody demonstrating these curses on the whole class, and he had noticed that Neville Longbottom looked extremely pale. Harry hadn’t really talked much with Longbottom, but there was something rather amusing about watching a Gryffindor panic in real time.
So much for the house of courage.
His confidence, however, was shattered moments later when the Moody said quietly, “Avada kedavra!” And a green light filled the room…. Harry suddenly wanted to be anywhere else but here. The light was familiar; he had seen it in his dreams, but why? What possible reason could Harry have to know the killing curse?
“There’s only one person known to have survived the killing curse.” It was perhaps the most subdued Moody had appeared all term. “And he currently looks like he’s going to pass out.”
Harry felt the entire class turn their attention to him, and he wondered if he’d get docked points for just running away- he hated being the center of attention; he’d had enough of that in the second year when everyone had thought he was the heir of Slytherin, and before the first task, when everyone had thought he had put his name in the Goblet.
“Next week you’ll practice defending yourself against the Imperious and Cruciatus curse, and I want 12 inches on why they’re forbidden by then! Dismissed!” The former auror turned around and, seemingly changing his mind, “Potter! My office!”
Harry followed without question, wondering if this was about his reaction to the killing curse. “Sir- Professor…”
“What is it, Potter?”
“The killing curse, you said they… they don’t feel anything?”
“This is about your parents, you put two and two together back there, huh? Dumbledore said you were more clever than Snape let on- not that I believe a word that git says. I could tell you stories that would turn his hair white.” The man rambled, pulling out his flask and taking a drink. “That was some clever thinking in the first task, Potter! Learning the summoning spell on your own- I don’t think Flitwick teaches that until the second term for fourth years.”
Harry nodded, “I’ve been practicing after classes since I’m not a seventh year and, in all honesty, at a disadvantage.”
“Ah, yes, I’d heard the rumors- Granger is partnered with you on Dumbledore’s orders, isn’t she?”
“Oh uh, yes sir.” Harry said, “It’s been a big help.” What exactly was the point here? None of the other teachers had seemingly taken much notice or care of his performance in the first task, even his own head of house hadn’t really said anything.
“I’m sure you have much better things to do, Potter, so I just wanted to ask if you had any leads on the second task. I’m sure by now everyone’s figured it out, and this isn’t a spell Granger can help you learn.”
That much was true, but if nott and Luna were right… “I’m actually about to er- go follow up on a lead on the egg now.”
“Good job, Potter, go on then- and good luck in the second task.”
The entire conversation had been a whirlwind of strangeness. Why did Moody seemingly care so much if he did well in the tournament? But that was just spiraling; he’d already gone down that path, and it wasn’t something he would be able to think through here, so he took his leave.
-----
Pacing outside the door to the prefect bathroom, Harry for a moment wondered if maybe Luna had been the wrong person to trust with that, but immediately stomped that thought down; he trusted Luna more than perhaps anyone at this point. After leaving Moody’s office, he had sought out the blonde Ravenclaw- he didn’t know why, but the meeting with the defense professor had left him anxious, and the need to solve the egg had become urgent.
“Two steps forward and one step back,” Harry muttered. Maybe he should have had Luna tell Hermione to meet him in their classroom, but he hadn’t been thinking about that.
“One step back, what?” Came Hermione’s voice as she finally approached him and, taking a moment to collect herself, continued “Sorry- I got caught up in that transfiguration essay- it's so interesting how-”
“Hermione.” The young Slytherin interrupted gently, “I solved the egg.”
Snapping her jaw shut, Hermione’s eyes locked with his, and he could see the curiosity burning in her brown eyes, “Tell me.”
Despite his previous anxiety, Harry couldn’t help but smirk, “Say please.”
With a scowl, she folded her arms over her chest, “Did you call me here just to make me angry?”
“That doesn’t sound like something I’d do.” This was so unlike him; he normally never… was this flirting? Was he flirting with her? Was she…. Smiling? Was she flirting back? Did she like this?
“You’re impossible.”
“Well, good thing you’re clever.”
Silence filled the space between them, and Harry looked away as he felt his face heat, “Right, um, the egg it said…” Clearing his throat the young Slytherin hesitated, “Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching ponder this; We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour, the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back. “
The bushy-haired witch furrowed her brow, listening to each sentence of what the egg had said, “Well, it seems rather obvious that someone’s going to take something, and Luna mentioned that the egg was speaking in the Mermaid’s native tongue…” She exhaled, “How did you make it say this?”
“Oh! It had to be put under water.”
“Of course…” Now Hermione was pacing, “We cannot sing underground- Something is going to be taken from you, and you’ll only have so long to get it back before it’s lost forever.”
Harry paled, “Like, gone forever?”
“That’s what the poem says. But surely they can’t be literal; this is a school.”
For a moment, Harry imagined his broom being taken; that was something he would sorely miss- the Firebolt his Godfather had sent him last year when he’d made the team. First years hadn’t been allowed, and he had missed tryouts in his second year while Draco made Chaser. It had been Draco who had encouraged him to finally try out for real in their third year.
He had received a Firebolt with a signature claiming to be from an old family friend (who had later turned out to be Sirius) when he had made the team. He had thought about turning it in, but he and Draco had tested it that night, and nothing went wrong; if any of the professors had been concerned, none of them showed it.
“We need to figure out what kind of things Mermaids like ot take from wizards,” Hermione said, snapping the raven-haired wizard out of his thoughts. “And you’ll need to learn how to breathe underwater.”
“I’ll get right on that.” Harry said dryly, “I think I’m growing gills already.”
“It’s an improvement, too.” Hermione shot back.
“Original.”
Letting out a small noise of frustration, Hermione shook her head, “Meet me in the library tomorrow- you’re helping me find the books we need for this.”
With a shrug, the young man put the egg back in his bag and nodded, “Yeah, sounds good to me.” Harry opened his mouth to tell her what he had learned about his parents, about the unfogivables, or even the dreams he’d been having- maybe it would do good to tell someone, but the words wouldn’t come, so he just sighed. “It’s been a long day, see you tomorrow?”
Studying him, as if she knew he was hiding something, the fourth-year Ravenclaw just nodded. “See you tomorrow.”
Heading back to his common room, Harry had to admit it felt good to have a pla. The second task didn’t seem so looming with a proper plan put in motion and whatever was going on with him and Hermione… Well, he wasn’t going to say he knew what was going on; he had never been very in tune with his emotions, but it was something- this draw to her… right?
“Did you see this?” Draco asked him the moment he stepped into the Slytherin Common room, “No one knows when it was posted, but it looks like it’s because of the tournament.
Green eyes scanned the parchment, and Harry felt his heart skip. So much for having a plan for everything.
No one had told him the Tournament included a ball.