Percypendragon3
patreon
The Overpowered Gamer 59
🕑 Added 2023-06-18 18:18:14 +0000 UTC59. The Second Task
It was early morning, and the sky was still dark.
The air was frigid from the winter chill, and small clumps of grey clouds drifted away as the first ray of the cool sunlight lit up the horizon. There was no warmth to it, and the yellow light was rather weak, but it was better than the gloomy, overcast weather that had earlier overtaken the Highlands.
Even now, days after the rainstorm, puddles scattered around the grounds as a result.
Presently, most students were either sleeping or performing their morning ablutions; the sweet embrace of winter made their slumber deeper and more restful.
But Team A was not buried under warm blankets like everyone else.
No, they were occupied with the upcoming second task.
Near the shore of the Great Lake, three people broke through the water's surface.
They dispelled the Bubblehead Charm and waded towards the shore.
Climbing the muddy slope, they slumped on the grassy ground. If not for the warming charm, they would be a shivering mess. But thanks to magic, they could take a dive in an ice-cold lake in mid-January and still avoid hypothermia.
They were completely drenched, their hair slick and matted to their skulls, with water pouring everywhere.
“Fuck! I feel like the grass is poking my bum,” Harry hissed, jumping to his feet and dusting off his wet swim briefs.
Fleur snickered and got up too, grateful that she had worn shorts instead of the usual revealing swim bottoms. Or else, the pointy grass blades would have been a pain in the arse. Literally.
With a wave of her wand, she dried herself, not commenting on the way he glanced at her bikini top. She wouldn’t have worn it if she wasn’t comfortable showing skin around him. At this point, she was almost ready to talk to him about their mutual attraction. Though a new change had raised her intrigue and suspicion. Maybe she should clear that up before throwing herself at him.
“We have completely explored the lake. I don’t think we need to dive again,” Elitsa announced, drawing their attention to where she was sitting on the ground.
“Merci.” Fleur sighed in relief, pulling up her hair in a quick ponytail. Her hair was dry and frizzy, but there was no kelp tangled in it this time.
Unlike the other two, she didn’t like these sessions. Her Veela nature made it impossible for her to enjoy the exploration; the deeper she went, the more claustrophobic she felt. She had freaked out the first time she reached the lake bed, where there was no natural light, where her body felt heavy and burdened from the weight of the water. If not for Harry’s and Elitsa’s constant encouragement, she would have abandoned this chore by now.
“Don’t lie. You enjoyed the last two times.” Harry chuckled, pulling out their clothes from somewhere.
The two girls had simply stopped asking him how he did all these things, and this wasn’t even his most impressive trick.
Fleur tried to catch her shirt as he tossed it towards her, but was unable to grab it in time. She didn’t even have to look at him to know where his eyes were as she bent forward to pick it up. She laughed out loud when Elitsa reprimanded him for his wandering eyes.
“Stop ogling her. Just because she doesn’t complain doesn’t mean you should stare at her!”
“Fine, mother.” He rolled his eyes, putting on his clothes.
He wasn’t gay, dammit. When a beautiful Veela is showing off her perfect rack, you can’t expect him to be a polite gentleman. And it wasn’t every day that Fleur wore such tiny clothes. Barring these sessions, she was always in normal attire that unsuccessfully tried to downplay her hotness.
He wasn’t an idiot to let these golden opportunities to admire her sexy body slip away. And the impression of her stiff nipples on the bikini top made it impossible for him to avert his eyes. This wasn’t the first time he saw her in a two-piece swimsuit, but the view of her marvellously full breasts jiggling and straining against the thin fabric never got old.
Before Elitsa could say something, Fleur spoke up, “It’s fine. ‘Arry is a growing boy. We can’t expect ‘im to be mature and wise. Let ‘im watch; let the little boy live a little.”
The silver-haired girl smirked, not affected by his glare. She didn’t know why, but calling him ‘little’ always made her gleeful, and his annoyance at the affectionate title was just an added bonus. Not that it was untrue. While Harry was as tall as her and considerably more mature than children his age, he was still only thirteen.
In a sense, he really was a little boy.
That should make a normal sixteen-year-old girl feel uncomfortable about getting enamoured by him.
But Fleur was not normal. She wasn’t even entirely human.
Her body had matured drastically on her thirteenth birthday. One instant she was a small preteen, and the next she was a grown woman.
She viewed Harry’s age just like Veela's maturation, where it didn’t matter after the momentous transformation.
That was her defence, and she was sticking with it.
“Well, this little curious boy wants to see Auntie Fleur’s big boobies. Won’t you show me?” He tilted his head in an innocent manner, his eyes wide and imploring.
She was not going to lie. It was criminal how perfectly he pulled off that cute look.
“Maybe some other time, little ‘Arry. Otherwise Auntie Elitsa will get mad at us,” she said wryly, buttoning up her shirt and looking at the twitching face of their captain, who had enough of their lewd jokes.
“Meanie,” he mumbled loud enough for them to hear it.
But instead of addressing his comment, Elitsa brought the conversation back to the topic. “I think gillyweed is the best option that we have. On top of giving us the ability to breathe underwater, it will also offer us increased mobility.”
Harry nodded in agreement, while Fleur shook her head.
“You two use that. I’m fine with the Bubblehead Charm. I don’t even know if gillyweed will work for me since my body and magic are closely aligned with the fire element.”
Elitsa grimaced, having already heard that excuse and knowing she wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise. “What do you propose then? You will slow us down if you don’t use gillyweed. And we can’t babysit you if we want to stay ahead of Team B.”
Fleur looked as if she had bitten into a lemon. Between them, she was the one who had been most offended when Team B showed them up. It was she who was most insistent that they had to win the next task. But suddenly becoming a burden instead of an equal contributor didn’t sit well with her.
It was deeply humiliating.
“How about we allot her the job of watching our backs? We can’t keep looking over our shoulders if we want to rush to the underwater village and recover our things. And due to the low visibility, surprise attacks from behind are highly probable.” Harry thought out loud, scratching his chin.
“The problem still remains. How will she keep up with us to watch our backs?”
Before she could yell that she was ready to experiment with the gillyweed—having gotten royally pissed off as they talked about her like she wasn’t even there—Harry threw a strange question at them.
“Do you mind if I cheat a bit?”
“In what way?” Elitsa asked back, her eyes gleaming with interest.
“You know how I can win this tournament single-handedly and am holding back so as not to overshadow you two?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I can simply use my power to increase Fleur’s speed. Problem solved.”
“What spell would you use to do that?”
“No spell. My intent would be enough.”
Fleur and Elitsa shared a look and stifled a groan. It was sometimes demotivating to see how powerful their teammate was. They weren’t even needed in the team; he could just participate alone and walk through the tasks as if they were nothing.
They couldn’t have been able to do anything to him if he was some glory-seeking arsehole, considering the power gap between them.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the case, and they were grateful that he was considerate instead.
“Fine, but nothing else. We will do this on our own,” Elitsa acquiesced.
“Sure. It’s your turn to show off. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Of course, you can’t complain when the last task will be your stage. I wouldn’t have minded if our positions were changed.”
“Heh. Should’ve won the rock-paper-scissors game if you wanted to lead the main task.”
Did they decide their turns to be in the spotlight by the rock-paper-scissors game? Yes, they did. After all, the three equally craved the chance to be in the centre during the last task, the task that would be remembered and watched the most.
It was Fleur’s idea to solve this dilemma peacefully. And it was hilarious that she lost first and got saddled with the opening task instead of the ending one.
“We should go before someone catches us,” Fleur said, glancing at the giant ship moored on the opposite bank. A couple of Durmstrangs students were already out on the deck, stretching their bodies and warming up.
“Go on then. I will see you two later.”
The two waved at Elitsa as she jogged away along the shoreline.
Turning to Fleur, he offered his arm. “I’ll teleport you to your room.”
“I was going to invite you anyway. I ‘ave to talk to you about something important.”
“Oh? We should hurry then.”
They disappeared silently when she grabbed his proffered limb.
Fleur’s white room greeted them after an instant, and she squeezed his hand before breaking away, lying down on the bed with a blissful sigh. She had been awake since 4 o’clock, sacrificing the comfort of her bed to ‘enjoy’ the process of exploring the depths of the accursed lake.
After this conversation with Harry, she would probably treat herself to a short nap. It was still early enough in the morning that she could get away with an hour or two of sleep.
She scooted a bit and made some space beside her on the bed.
Turning to her side and propping her head over her elbow, she patted the mattress. “Sit.”
He perched on the edge of the bed, crossing one leg over the other and turning his waist, to face her. “What do you want to talk about?”
Fleur regarded him with slightly narrowed eyes. “Are you fucking Madam Blanc?”
This was the change that was stopping her from pursuing him. She had thought that they shared the same ideas about love. She had thought that, just like her, he too respected the meaning of sex, that it was an act that should only be shared with people you strongly cared about.
This mutual notion was the thing that had allowed her initial attraction to him to turn into something greater, something concrete, something worth working for.
But if he had fallen for the lure of Madam Blanc’s brand of debauchery, then she didn’t think she would be able to forgive him.
She didn’t think she would be able to create anything permanent with him if the mere temptation of a beautiful body was enough to make him forget his values. She wouldn’t consider this such a big problem if she thought Harry and Madam Blanc loved each other. Then it would have been acceptable. She would have tolerated their relationship just like she tolerated other romantic relationships he had with other girls and women.
But no, she doubted Madam Blanc had left her way of life behind for him. Even Harry's appeal wasn’t enough to change the core of the powerful witch. That was just impossible. Because there was something broken inside Eos Blanc that stopped her from pursuing love. Most likely a dead lover, she supposed.
Pushing away the thoughts of her teacher, she focused on the boy before her.
Harry pinched his nose and exhaled. “Yes, but there’s a reason behind it other than ‘Eos is hot and I want to bonk her’.”
She raised her eyebrows, somewhat placated that he didn’t instantly deny or try to lie. “Go on.”
“Before I tell you that, I’ll repeat that I only have sex with people I love. My views haven’t changed,” he said slowly, aware of their mutual desires, knowing that soon they might become a couple if she considered him worthy enough, “but Eos is an exception. I didn’t want to sleep with her. Unfortunately, she had an important artefact that I urgently needed. I had the option to either kill her off to loot that from her corpse or ask her nicely. I asked nicely because I don’t think you’d be happy if I murdered your favourite teacher. And since Eos is a slut who has been salivating over me ever since I turned her down, she asked me to sleep with her three times as a price.”
“I see,” she mumbled, taken aback when he talked about murdering Madam Blanc. She had to remind herself that this easy-going boy was even stronger than her teacher. The teacher who had summoned a storm over the entire France without breaking a sweat. And with the casual way he talked about murder, told her that he might very well have committed one or two. It was eye-opening, revealing how little she knew him. But that only made him more intriguing. “What was this artefact?”
He shook his head in response. “Can’t tell you. I have many secrets. Such secrets that will change your perception of the very world. But there’s an order to things. While I feel like I know you, I know that I don’t know you enough. Someday, I’ll tell you all my secrets if you decide to stick around. But that day is not today.”
Fleur soothed the sting of hurt with rationality, agreeing with his logic. They liked each other. They liked each other intensely, but that was not enough to build something unshakeable.
She must know him. And he must know her. They must bare their souls to one another; they must reveal their darkest secrets before the road to a sturdy relationship can be paved.
They were not there yet, but there was hope.
There was a dream and a chance to make that rosy dream a reality. That was enough for now. That would have to do until they became transparent to each other, until they built an unbreakable trust.
“I understand. I ‘ope to be with you until there’s no doubt between us.” She smiled, opening her arms in invitation.
It took him a second to understand what she was saying. But when it did, he smiled back and settled over her, her arms coiling around his body as they lay side-by-side. She smelled of something unreal that he couldn’t do justice to with mere words. Her warmth was all-encompassing as her soft bust pressed against his chest, as their breaths blended between their faces.
His lips were already tingling when hers merged with his.
Soft was their kiss, and equally softly she cupped his face, leveraging it to deepen her first kiss.
It was sweet and electric, loving and arousing, as her heart thumped against his, as heat pooled between her legs.
She sighed on his mouth, opening her wide blue eyes, their noses nudging, content smiles playing upon their lips, and gasped when his arms closed around her.
He rolled them until she was atop him, straddling his crotch.
A deep crimson blush spread over her face at the sensation of his throbbing mast buried beneath her plump derriere. This was the first time she was so close to a man-thing after all. She was treading new waters here, exploring something she had never experienced before, which was both exciting and frightening.
Rising a little, he placed a chaste kiss on her mouth. “How far?”
She didn’t have to ask what he meant by that. “Just kissing today.”
He nodded, slumping back and placing his hands on her hips, sending a shiver down her spine. “What’re you waiting for? Kiss away.”
She chuckled at the strange situation where the younger boy was far more experienced than her. “I will if you don’t mind. And you can touch Auntie Fleur’s boobies if you want.”
He snorted at the quip but melted right underneath her as she began exploring the wonders of kissing.
Second by second, she became bolder. And rougher. A lot rougher. Her tongue rushed into his mouth, pushing against his own.
He didn’t remain idle for long and dragged his hands from her hips to her sides.
Caressing her sides as she snogged him, he teased her every now and then, touching her side boobs lightly but never directly grabbing her breasts as she expected and wanted.
Annoyed at his refusal to stimulate her breasts, she ground her pelvis against his erection, moaning together with him and flinching at the jolt of pleasure produced by the friction.
She hummed on his lips victoriously as he finally took her tits in his hands.
Tilting her head a little to gain a better position, she plundered his mouth while he fondled her breasts.
That was how she spent the early morning, with hands firmly on his face to allow her to kiss him as much as she wanted while he squeezed and pawed on her perky bosom, making her extremely turned on. And the rough friction as their aroused cores wantonly rubbed against each other was enough for them to climax later on.
It was followed by cuddle time, where Harry spooned her from behind and peppered her neck and bare shoulders with fond kisses. And Fleur didn’t really mind having to take off her shirt and lay there in a swim top.
~xXxXx~
January was productive for him in terms of relationships.
Tracey and he began going out, surprising many that he was dating two girls at the same time. Even his friends were bamboozled by this revelation.
Fortunately, they didn’t make much fuss since Daphne and Tracey were quite okay with the arrangement.
Well, most of them didn’t. Hermione was more than a little rude for a while before she finally came around.
But it was Astoria whose reaction had been the most unique. She had simply cackled in triumph and hugged him tightly, telling him there was now a real chance that she could become his wife. That her dream to marry him was achievable since Daphne was fine with him pursuing multiple partners. She had praised and worshipped the harem route for days, right until other girls started showing interest.
That had made her explode and try to curse the ‘slags’ who wanted to seduce him.
He was not going to lie; that certainly had been entertaining and heartwarming. Thankfully, that incident stopped others from seeking him if they didn’t want to suffer Astoria’s fiery wrath.
Then there was his budding relationship with Fleur, which was still a secret between them. The two had grown increasingly closer in that short time, and he spent most of his afternoons in Beauxbatons Carriage, where they either made out or shared funny childhood stories. He believed that he trusted her enough by now, but he decided to wait until she had to go back to France to reveal his big secrets. He would give her the option to turn away from him then and would respect her decision, whatever that might be. Not that he thought it would come to that. Fleur was fiercely protective and loyal to the people she considered hers. And Harry had swiftly joined that short list.
In terms of old relationships, Daphne and Iris were still the same and remained his closest confidants, with whom he discussed the foggy future that lay ahead.
There were only two quests left now, exacerbating the fact that he was nearing the end.
But while many things changed, sex remained a constant in his busy life. His sister still took care of his needs every morning and night, facing the brunt of his lustful nature. Then his Aunt Alice continued with the private lessons, sometimes even two to three times a week. And his weekly visits to his mum and Proserpina remained the best part of the weekends. There was nothing more that needed to be said after that.
Though a new thing did happen between this routine.
He wasn’t truly surprised when Eos called him for the second session of sex just days after the first one. Apparently, her horde of lovers weren’t able to match him.
Heh, who would have guessed?
He had greeted her with a knowing smirk while she rolled her eyes. And then he proceeded to pound her into the bed for hours and hours until she lost consciousness again. Sex with Eos was the best, without any doubt. She was the only one who could enjoy it when he went all out. And she remained the only woman who could exhaust his unnatural libido.
February was much the same as January, until the morning of the second task.
“Where are Iris and Astoria?” Harry queried, sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, surprised by the empty spaces on either side.
Daphne quirked her eyebrow and stared at him as if he were asking stupid questions. “Most likely in the Great Lake.”
“Why would they be in the Great Lake?” Hermione butted in, curious about their absence.
But Harry’s mind was already racing, connecting the dots and recalling the words of the song concealed in the golden egg.
We've taken what you'll sorely miss.
“Fuck!” he swore, pushing his fingers through his hair and pulling at his bangs. He had made a big error in assuming what the task would entail.
“Those two will be hostages for the second task,” Daphne answered, eyeing him curiously. “What did you think was the task then?”
“I thought it was some sort of treasure hunting quest, where we've got to recover our precious things hidden in the depths of the Great Lake. Before you brand me stupid, understand that there's been precedent for this. And the wording, ‘We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss’ gave more credence to this theory.” He scowled, tapping his foot under the table anxiously.
His twin was taken. Little Tori was taken. Who knows in what condition they were kept in the chilly water of the lake? If something happened to them, then he was going on a bloody rampage. Fuck anonymity. He would turn the lake into a fucking desert if even a scratch appeared on their bodies. The organisers didn’t have any right to just snatch his sisters and put them in icy depths where anything could happen to them.
“Dumbledore wouldn’t allow his students to be put in danger. The ministries also wouldn’t want a scandal on their hands. And your silver necklaces would’ve alerted you if they were forcefully taken. Everything will be alright, Harry.” Daphne scooted towards him, wrapping her arm around his back and giving him a reassuring squeeze.
Their friends were totally lost, not having all the information to guess what was going on. But they kept their silence, allowing her to pacify him, knowing when not to interrupt.
A frenzied Fleur darted into the Great Hall, looking around for someone.
Harry noticed her immediately.
Pecking Daphne’s cheek, he rose from the bench and jogged towards the Veela.
Embracing her, he whispered something in her ear, and they both walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring all the inquisitive eyes on them.
“What’s happening, Daph?” Tracey asked, looking at the retreating back of her boyfriend with a worried frown.
“I wish I had the time to explain everything in detail, but I too need to get back to my teammates. You’ll know all about it soon enough. See you later.”
~xXxXx~
Iris sighed, glancing at the empty potion vial in her hands.
This morning, a letter greeted her when she returned to her dorm from the Room.
It was a summons from the headmaster.
She had been expectedly wary of what the old wizard wanted from her. Up until now, Harry was the only one he contacted for random meetings. So, this sudden change of modus operandi was jarring and unsettling.
It was when she got into the common room that she found the reason.
Astoria had received the same letter.
From there, it hadn’t taken her long to guess that these summons were actually connected to the tournament.
After taking a relieved breath, she accompanied Astoria to the headmaster’s office. Along the way, they found other people going in the same direction and joined them.
Once inside the office, Dumbledore told them why they were needed for the second task. Many did question how safe they would be sleeping in the middle of the lake, but the headmaster was able to give them a reassuring answer.
“The merpeople will safeguard you, and the chief of the merpeople himself will watch over you. On top of that, a team of aurors under Notice-Me-Not Charms will stay with you until the task is done. Have no fear; we’ve done everything in our power to make this event as safe as possible.”
After that, no one complained and ingested the given potion.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work on her and Astoria.
“Why is it not working?” The blonde frowned as everyone except them slumped on the ground sluggishly.
Dumbledore and the others converged around them, but before they could start their questioning, Iris spoke up, “It’s fine. It was the silver necklaces that stopped it from affecting us. It's a protective artefact given to us by our mothers. Please keep them safe for the duration of the task.”
She took off her necklace, which made her invincible against any type of magic, and dropped it into the awaiting hands of Professor McGonagall.
Astoria did the same in a more reluctant manner, not wanting to let go of Harry’s gift. And she was smart enough not to call out Iris for her lie.
Following that, they both fell asleep, ready to be placed in the lake.
~xXxXx~
Beside the lake, stands were constructed overnight.
Just like the last time.
And it was already full of excited crowds.
This time, Iris and Astoria weren’t sitting between Lily and Proserpina. No, they weren’t even there this time.
Lily and Proserpina were obviously worried, but Dumbledore had given them a heads up before kidnapping their children, which was the only reason why they weren’t running amok in search of their daughters.
The ginormous screen hovered opposite the stands, partitioned into three smaller screens that focused on the individual teams. From looking at the screen, it was clear that Team A and Team C were the most worried, while Team B was somewhat relaxed, as if they had expected this and were prepared for it.
“Each member has one of their closest friends or family members stranded in the Great Lake. Our champions have to retrieve them in under an hour. 30 points will be rewarded for each successful retrieval. And an extra 10 points will be given to the team that completes this task first. Begin at the sound of the canonfire.” Bagman’s announcement was met with cheers.
Though the cheering turned deafening from the students' side when the champions took off their robes and stood in swimwear, all these champions were incredibly beautiful and attractive, so the reaction wasn’t unwarranted. But the attention and the cheers were particularly thunderous for Fleur, who emanated the draw of Aphrodite herself, even when she was just in a plain grey one-piece suit, unlike the other female champions, who were fine with showing skin in a two-piece.
But the sexual attention of the masses was the least of her worries.
It was the safety of her little sister that was gnawing at her mind.
“They’ll be safe. We’ll bring them back soon enough,” Harry whispered, squeezing her hand.
The Veela nodded jerkily, arranging her hair in a bun.
“Nothing has changed. Instead of things, we have to find people. We will follow the same plan.” Elitsa handed him the gillyweed, biting her lip in worry. For her, it was her mother who was taken. And however much she wanted to act cool and collected for her younger partners, she couldn’t do it when her concern overpowered her.
“Okay.” Harry took the gillyweed, looking over his shoulder at the stands where his mother and friends were seated.
The sound of the canonfire halted his attempt to locate them in the feverish crowd, and he quickly swallowed the gillyweed.
As the effect started taking place, he jumped from the small pier.
Elitsa was close behind him.
And Fleur wasn’t too far behind, applying the Bubblehead Charm to herself and following after them.
She watched how Harry and Elitsa twisted and trembled before steadying.
Now they had gills on the sides of their necks, and their hands and legs had become webbed.
Harry turned towards her and beckoned with his transformed hand. She gasped and was pulled towards him.
This was the magic that would allow her to keep up with them and stop her from falling behind.
They took their appointed positions. Elitsa in the front, Harry a little behind and to her left side, while Fleur was the last, facing away from them to keep watch.
Harry’s magic would simply drag her after him, so she didn’t have to put effort into swimming and could focus fully on preventing rear-end attacks.
Still, as her body rushed after them in reverse, she understandably felt odd. It was like a rollercoaster ride, only without a safety belt and facing the seat instead of the front. She shook off that feeling, putting her trust in him, and kept an eye ahead. Well, ahead for her but behind for the other two.
Her first obstacle came in the form of a lone grindylow.
She easily stunned it, hoping to reach Gabrielle soon.
~xXxXx~
At the sound of the canonfire, Daphne pulled out her wand and pointed it at the lake instead of jumping into it like the others did.
She was wearing a dark-green two-piece swimsuit, showing off her long, spindly legs. It wasn’t too revealing and was quite modest—definitely not a thong or a small bikini top.
But she had still hoped for a compliment from Harry—if not that, then at least the weight of his lustful eyes.
She hadn’t predicted that he would be unaware of the details of the task since she had caught him plunging into the lake many times in the last two months, but apparently he got it wrong and was now anxious about Iris and Astoria. So she would forgive him this time for not noticing her.
Pulling her mind off Harry, she concentrated on the task.
Krum and Chloe were standing on either side of her with their wands out, acting like her bodyguards. Well, Krum did look strong and intimidating enough for that role, but Chloe definitely did not in her cute blue outfit.
The water before them, before the pier, began moving and swirling, pushing and pulling against her magical grasp.
A small whirlpool eventually formed.
And they jumped into it one by one without hesitation.
Only when the cameras—that were tasked with recording and broadcasting the event—dived after them did everyone realise what the blonde did.
Under the water, a large bubble encircled Team B.
The audience was astonished that the third-year Sytherin had such power and control that she could achieve this. Then again, this was the same girl who trapped a dragon in a water prison. They shouldn’t really be surprised.
With a smirk on her face, she pushed her wand forward, and the giant bubble charged ahead at a drastic speed, surpassing even Team A, who had the advantages of semi-aquatic bodies.
The flabbergasted look of Fleur as the big bubble outswam them was certainly amusing. And neither Harry nor Elitsa were able to hide their shock when they were pushed aside by the underwater wave.
Outside, as everyone watched this on the screen, many laughed and many booed, cheering for different teams and clashing due to it.
It was difficult for Harry not to simply let loose and finish the task in seconds. But he controlled his competitiveness and carried on with his captain’s plan.
“Faster!” Elitsa tried to say.
While no voice came out of her throat, he got the meaning, and they began beating their hands and legs at a rapid rate.
Behind them, Fleur stifled a surprised scream as she was wrenched away.
~xXxXx~
Team C was running last.
But at least they had swimsuits on and had learned Bubblehead Charms in advance. They wouldn’t have been able to do even that if Juliette hadn’t begged for Chloe’s help.
The same Chloe who was on Daphne’s team.
But the short girl hadn’t given them any clue until yesterday. Until only one day was left for the task. Juliette was sure that the delay was on Daphne Greengrass’ orders. Not that she could be sure of it. Because while she and Chloe were in the same school, they had never talked due to them being in different years.
Still, she had the feeling that it wasn’t Chloe but Daphne who had decided to leave them at a disadvantage. Whatever, now was not the right time to hold a grudge. Her younger brother was the hostage in her case. And while she knew that he would be safe, she wouldn’t feel like that until she saw him with her own eyes. Honestly, why the fuck did they have to take the only person she cared about? They should have taken one of her shitty parents, then she wouldn’t be this stressed.
Cedric, beside her, was wearing the same distressed look, worried about his own father. She couldn’t relate to that. Her father wasn’t that fatherly to induce such warm concern in her.
“Hurry!” Stefan growled. Not that they heard it, but it was easy to guess when that was the only word he kept repeating.
Unlike them, the boy wasn’t worried a bit. He didn’t have any parents or siblings to care for.
He was an orphan.
Neither did he have any good friends that could be used as hostages for this task. He was alone and had been alone since the beginning. He was rather curious himself to see who the organisers had picked to represent the ‘person he’d miss the most’.
But that didn't mean there wasn’t a sense of urgency in him. No, he was just as taken with reaching the hostages as others. Because he wanted to finally defeat the two strong teams and prove his superiority.
That dream was mercilessly crushed when a ginormous bubble shot past them.
If they weren’t underwater, they would have heard Stefan’s enraged scream from miles away.
~xXxXx~
Daphne narrowed her eyes when they reached a small underwater hill.
On its crest, a white pillar stood tall. And hanging from it were three people, unconscious and swaying gently along the current.
A small silver-haired girl, who was Fleur’s sister. A tall black-haired boy, who was Chloe’s boyfriend. And a paunchy man, who she recognised as Amos Diggory.
This was new.
She had thought that all the hostages would be kept in one place. But it seemed that was not the case. They needed to hurry then. If they had to visit three different sites to collect them, then it would take a lot of time, and they had already spent twenty minutes to reach here.
“Marcel!” Chloe exclaimed, looking ready to burst through the bubble to reach him.
Daphne grabbed her hand. “Wait!”
Chloe nodded sheepishly, squirming impatiently while Daphne moved the bubble near him. At the base of the pillar, half a dozen merpeople watched them with curious gazes. Some even waved and smiled shyly. She couldn’t help but return the gestures now that she wasn’t worried about her best friend.
Daphne positioned the bubble under the boy. Then she raised her wand and swiped it towards the rope binding Marcel’s hands. Once free, he floated down. And as soon as he fell on the bubble, she pulled him inside while using her power to stop water from rushing in.
“Marcel!” Chloe laughed in relief and captured him in a tight hug. The boy blinked awake and returned the hug in a daze before he dropped his jaw at the realisation that he was inside a bubble.
“Is this a dream?” he mumbled, looking around. There was blue water everywhere, surrounding them from all directions. And below them were happy merpeople, not pretty and seductive like the muggles made them out to be, but still unique and pleasing.
“No, it’s better than a dream.” She chuckled, kissing his cheek.
Before they could continue their sappy conversation, Daphne addressed her. “Do you think you can take Auclair to the pier by yourself? Can you do it alone?”
Chloe hesitated before nodding. She knew they had to hurry if they wanted to keep the lead. And she couldn’t afford to be unconfident at this crucial moment.
“Good. Go on, then. You’re an elementalist too. Form a bubble around Auclair and yourself and separate it from this one.”
Chloe did just that.
In the past few months, her grip on the water element had vastly improved, thanks to Daphne’s tutelage.
And while it was not as easy as the blonde made it look, she was able to do it.
A new bubble formed within the first one before it pulled away from the original.
“Very good. Hurry now and give us thirty points.”
Chloe smiled and sped away, with Marcel giving her a proud look.
~xXxXx~
After Daphne’s bubble, Team A reached the pillar.
Harry quickly cut Gabrielle free and carried her towards Fleur, who snatched her up and held her tightly in her arms as if she were her most precious treasure.
As she calmed down, she saw that Harry was trying to convey something. Instantly, she understood what he meant.
‘Take her and go up. Otherwise, it’ll take too much time. And use the safe path that we found where there are no grindylows. It’ll take more time, but it’s better than fighting a swarm of those evil pests.’
The gesturing and the waving were just for the cameras; his voice sounded crystal clear inside her head. And this was one more thing she didn’t know how he did.
Giving him her affirmation, she began swimming away, finding it easier than it should be for someone carrying an eight-year-old in her arms.
Probably Harry’s doing.
The other two didn’t waste time staring at her back and made haste, barely glancing at the half-shark Krum carrying his brother.
Next to be found was Elitsa’s mum. She and some blond-haired boy were slumped into stone chairs in a crater, surrounded by a guard of merpeople. They let them pass and sang melodic songs, welcoming them. Harry would have been more interested if some of them were sexy mermaids with their fat tits out. But since they weren’t, he simply ignored them.
Just like Fleur, Elitsa grabbed her mum and swam towards the shore.
Forty minutes had already passed. And Team B was still in the lead.
Now, without Elitsa and Fleur, he allowed himself to go a lot faster. Nowhere near his full speed, but still challenging the boundary of a believable one.
Daphne had just set Astoria free from a tentacle of the giant octopus’ statue when he reached the last checkpoint.
It was the village centre with numerous houses surrounding the fifty-foot-tall statue.
If merpeople from before were excited, then these ones were having a wild party. They cheered for them in their beautiful language, and he wasn’t going to lie; it absolutely inflamed his competitive spirit. The same was true for Daphne, it seemed, as she woke up Astoria and quickened the bubble’s speed, leaving him in dust.
Resisting the urge to admire his sister’s pretty red hair, which swayed around hypnotically, he swam up to her and cut off her bindings, not having enough time for that luxury.
Putting her over his back with her arms loosely wrapped around his neck, he clutched her thighs and flew after his girlfriend.
There was still a chance for him to win, dammit.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t.
She already had a big lead over him, and if he went any faster, he would break the limits of believability and reality. Which he was still reluctant to do.
When he reached the shore, he found Daphne and Astoria bundled in long, fluffy towels.
“Ha! Take that, loser. We won,” Astoria crowed.
He rolled his eyes. Talk about feeling proud of being a damsel in distress.
He accepted a towel from Fleur and began drying Iris’ wet hair.
“I can do that myself,” his twin said in exasperation, but allowed him to continue, smiling softly at him.
“I’m here just for the beautiful hair. It’s pure physical. No strings attached.” He smirked, and she groaned at his joke, taking a swipe at him as he broke into a relieved laugh.
She wasn’t surprised when he hugged her tightly, almost making her ribs crack. At least he didn’t start bawling; that would have been embarrassing.
“Where’s my hug? I was trapped in the lake too.” Astoria pouted, opening her arms expectantly.
“I don’t hug people who call me a loser.”
“Come on, I was just kidding.”
In the end, Team B got a perfect score of 100. Team A managed to rescue all three hostages in time and was rewarded with 90 points.
Team C, on the other hand, barely managed to retrieve two hostages and got 60 points.
Also, Stefan’s damsel was Lavender.
Neither one of them liked that decision; the Yule Ball did not end with them on good terms.
It was made worse when Stefan didn’t ‘save’ her. Because when the time ran out, he simply gave up, even though he had reached the village centre and was staring at the unconscious body of the Gryffindor third-year.
He simply left her behind, not wanting to carry her all the way when it wouldn’t give him points.
Talk about being selfish and inconsiderate.
All in all, the task concluded without a hitch.
~xXxXx~
Bonus Scene
“Why are we locked in a jail?” A merman snarled, banging his webbed hands against the bars. There were around three dozen merpeople trapped in the room.
“Because you didn’t smile enough. You didn’t make the Two-Legs feel welcome. Seriously, how don’t you understand the simple instructions of ‘Smile and wave, boys’?”
“But I look ugly when I smile!”
~xXxXx~
Omake
“Before I tell you that, I’ll repeat that I only have sex with people I love. My views haven’t changed,” he said slowly, aware of their mutual desires, knowing that soon they might become a couple if she considered him worthy enough, “but Eos is an exception. I didn’t want to sleep with her. Unfortunately, she had an important artefact that I urgently needed. I had the option to either kill her off to loot that from her corpse or ask her nicely. I asked nicely because I don’t think you’d be happy if I murdered your favourite teacher. And since Eos is a slut who has been salivating over me ever since I turned her down, she asked me to sleep with her three times as a price.”
“So, you are a prostitute?”
“What? No!”
“Or maybe Madam Blanc NTR'd me. I ‘ave to kill her now! NTR is a trash fetish; she should ‘ave known the consequences of her actions.”
“What the hell are you mumbling!”
