It is strange how time goes by, Harry decided, one day you open your eyes and realize a month went by and you can barely remember what happened in that time. Of course, he could remember what he did, but days blended with each other so well he couldn't really recall the details. However, it was not important.
Once more Harry was in the now familiar waiting room of the stadium. Saturday eighteen of March, almost two months after the second task.
"...and Fleur's dad is helping my mum, but things are still pretty hard," Victor sighed while Cedric patted his shoulder gently. Harry decided to focus on the conversation.
"At least with all that is going on they can't bother your mother too much," Fleur said, her slightly furrowed brows giving away her worry.
Harry sighed. The situation in the Northern Union and all its countries had a turn for the worst. A month after being replaced, the Czar suffered a mysterious death while there were still no traces from the Czarina. If that was not enough, there were strange reports from the Dark Forests of Kosovo, about people entering and never coming back. Considering the place was a natural reserve for thousands of exotic plants, it was a matter of national and international concern.
There were also the disappearances and strangely convenient accidents. One of the Ministry's office workers was in the wrong time and place when an experimental potion blew off. One of the night cleaners enjoyed his weekend in a bar and drank too much, choking to death in his vomit. A desk Auror got out of her office and never returned, no traces were left behind. If any other person was in charge of the security, then these might just be strange accidents, but Alastor Moody was in charge and he didn't believe in accidents.
Auror Moody found it strange how fast all those workers were replaced and currently had them under watch, but there were few people the man trusted. Especially after the incident.
Moody's husband was targeted once again. Death Eaters broke into the house when the head of the DMLE was in the Ministry, the only reason why Edgar made it out alive is that Marcus' elf was having tea with him so Tubby was able to pop them out of the house. A stroke of good luck, especially once Aurors examined the house and discovered all the temporal containment wards surrounding it.
Now, Edgar was sent to a secret location and not even Auror Moody was allowed to know. In the end, Harry thought it was for the best because, otherwise, Death Eaters would explode that opening.
Then there was the incident in the hospital. Considering the place was being remodelled, the security was tight, that is how the werewolf guards found the infiltrate healers. There was no trace of the originals.
There were also a few attempts against Minister Bones. The first time her kitchen exploded and the woman's poor elf took the damage. Then, the lift she was in suddenly stopped working. Fortunately, Shacklebolt was also with her and they managed to get out. Later on, it was discovered the lift was filled with toxic fumes, both had to be treated at the hospital. The worst part was the blitzkrieg attack on Hogsmeade, a normal weekend in which Susan Bones decided to visit the village and was almost kidnapped. One particularly fast vampire managed to save the girl before the Death Eater that captured her could apparate.
Now Susan was confined to the castle, as every single student. It was not necessary to be a genius to know there were spies in the Ministry and Hogwarts, the hard part was knowing who. Auror Moody was already investigating the Ministry, but the process was slow. In the school was way harder. The wards would take months to be installed and that uneasy sensation the Court had ever since it was formed intensified.
Harry knew Hogwarts tried to warn them from the beginning and now they were paying for their carelessness. He asked the school elves to have an eye on every single inhabitant of the castle, but he knew he was missing something. A really big something.
"Harry!" Cedric almost yelled on his ear, making the youngest champion recoil and glare at the prefect.
"What," Harry almost barked, scowling deeply while protecting his sensitive ear.
"Bloody Merlin," Cedric hissed as his eyes widened, "are your ears still hurting. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I really-"
Harry sighed. Ever since the second task, Cedric felt guilty over him getting injured, no matter how many times he tried to reassure the older man. Fleur hit Cedric in the head and Harry gave her a grateful look.
"Whatever," Fleur declared and Viktor tried to cover his smile at Cedric's betrayed expression. "That sweet man, Hendery, is coming to see you, right?"
"Come again," Harry told the girl, utterly confused. Who was Hendery?
"She means Rubeous Hagrid," Viktor added, "he was the one who showed my mum around after the second task."
Right, they told Harry about it. His Court was so worried that they refused to leave the castle and, apparently, Hagrid came to watch the second task. Harry only knew the man left him a short letter and a bag filled with rock cakes that did honour to their name. They were actually pretty useful for dodging practice.
"Ah, yes, he said he would be coming."
"I really hope he doesn't leave you more projectiles," Cedric muttered under his breath and Harry pretended not to notice Fleur and Viktor's enthusiastic nods.
"Okay, champions, this is how we will do this!" professor Kowalski announced in an unnecessarily loud voice, making the dozing Iwan squawk as he almost fell of the couch. "The commentator had personal problems and couldn't make it so Benedict is taking his place." Ah, Harry guessed that is why the professors basically abandoned them once they passed the usual checks. "Now, take a marble from this bag, come on and hurry up."
Knowing the woman's strange temper, the six champions immediately obeyed. Not even Valerie put up a fight.
"Excellent! Now, you will divide yourselves into two groups, according to the colour of the marble you got. The ones with the white marbles will be the first group to go." Kowalski retrieved a now familiar plain box and opened it, handing three crystals to the champions. "You know what to do."
Harry noted with distaste he was paired with Valerie and Iwan, while the boy wasn't a bad company, the girl was a nightmare to deal with. The first signal sounded.
As always, professor Kowalski guided them towards the arena. Just like the other times, the place was different. Now, a dense forest was the view that welcomed them.
"Always remember sight is our weakest sense," the woman whispered to them and walked down the stairs.
The three champions were received by an ovation, a loud clap reverberated in the arena and the spectators went silent. Harry looked around, there was only forest and the entrance to the arena was no longer visible.
"Welcome to the Third Task of the Trischool Tournament!" Professor Munter announced, Harry tried to ignore his image on the gigantic projection mirrors. "I was informed the silencing barriers were lifted earlier than expected in order to allow the champions to concentrate. Now, allow me to explain the rules of this task.
"Your objective, champions, is to defeat the monster this forest hides in order to protect an innocent. There is an hour limit and you will be judged depending on the way in which you handle the obstacles in your path, though finishing early will grant you extra points. Are you ready?"
Harry saw the giant projection mirrors counting backwards from five and the shrill signal resounded at last.
"We should team up-" Iwan began saying but Valerie ran away and Harry patted the disappointed boy's shoulder. "I guess it's no longer an option."
"It would be unfair," Harry agreed, "I go left and you go right?"
"Sure, good luck," Iwan sighed.
Harry smirked in returned and entered the forest. The first thing he noticed was the particular trees he was surrounded with – dancing sequoias, not the easiest plant to deal with. The things liked to push people with their branches and move around constantly so it would be hard to remember the path he took, but considering he was only surrounded by trees and grass, it would be hard either way. There were not even pebbles in the ground to use and leave a path.
After a moment, Harry took out his wand and performed a four-point spell. At random, he chose south and began walking. After ten minutes or so of walking, Harry realized he was under an illusion, a physical one, considering his mental shields were still untouched. He didn't really know much about illusions and had no idea on how to disrupt them so he did the best next thing. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated his magic to disrupt the illusion and made some movements with his wand to mask it.
The forest was way darker than before and the air was humid. As Harry took some careful steps, he noticed how the earth softened and cast a durum charm to harden it and not sink, along with a lumos to light his path. The pitiful whimpers of some creature immediately captured Harry's attention and he approached the sound with careful steps and wand ready.
With a sigh, Harry noticed the creature was a puffskein. A no longer fluffy and very trapped in the mud puffskein. He really wanted to turn back.
In his humble opinion, puffskeins were creatures of the devil. Their creepy long tongue was enough to give Harry chills. However, he was being watched and couldn't leave the creature alone. With a sigh, he began casting detection charms on the creature and regretfully approached it once it came clean.
It bit his hand and Harry thanked the protection gloves he wore. How curious, he didn't know the things had teeth so sharp. Either way Harry freed the creature none too gently and cleaned it with a spell. The thing began purring. Great.
Harry kept walking, using the durum charm to keep his path steady. Once he noticed they were back on hard ground, he put the puffskein down and walked away. The thing was following him and Harry resisted the urge of kicking it away. Considering how strange the things were, it would probably enjoy it. So he kept walking until he reached a cave.
Any other day he would weigh his options before going in, but a tree took that option away when it pushed him inside with unnecessary strength. Harry glared back but the cave already closed and the tree was no longer visible. The place was illuminated by foxfire fungi the puffskein immediately began munching on.
The cave was not long, so he arrived at the end soon. On the plain wall, a message was written.
"Your sight deceives you. Your senses are clouded. A hundred and twenty breaths are all you have before you lose your mind. Now it's time to solve the puzzle you left behind."
Too late Harry noticed the glowing fungi were not foxfire, but stultus fungi – a particularly annoying breed. The fumes they released were enough to knock someone off in ten minutes or so, the problem was the hallucinogen qualities of it. Harry never imagined consuming his first type of legal drug this way. He immediately took out his handkerchief and wetted it with a charm, after placing it on his nose, he began thinking.
Perhaps the fumes were already affecting him but he had no idea of what the riddle meant. Harry began searching around the cave but only saw the glowing fungi and the puffskein feasting on them while still purring, or whatever sound the creatures made.
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What puzzle did he leave behind?
Harry approached the entrance and only found a plain rock. He began examining every millimetre of the cave and still nothing. His head was beginning to ache and Harry glared at the loud puffskein. Great, now it was neon pink. The fumes were definitely getting to him.
With his headache worsening, Harry began firing spells at the walls, only for them to remain unaffected. His ears began ringing. The fungi were moving and the ugly blue puffskein approached him, thrilling softly.
The creature began walking and looked back, almost as if asking to be followed. Perhaps it was the effect of the fungi, but Harry had nothing to lose, so he followed the creature until it reached the wall and crossed it, as if there was nothing blocking its path. Yes, that was definitely his mind playing a trick. The creature appeared again and thrilled a bit louder than last time, crossing the wall again. Once more, it returned and repeated the action.
With wary steps, Harry touched the wall, it was solid.
"Your eyes deceive you. Your senses are clouded." Harry whispered to himself and took a decision.
The worse that could happen is his pride getting hurt, but he was already drugged for the world to see so he didn't particularly care. Harry closed his eyes tightly and walked towards the wall. He felt as if ice water was surrounding him for a second before the sensation disappeared. With deliberate slowness, he opened one eye.
Either his plan worked or the hallucinogen effects of the fungi fully affected him now because Harry could only see the forest surrounding him. The bright yellow puffskein thrilled again and began walking away. He was sixty percent certain he was still hallucinating. With a shrug, Harry kept walking.
Not a minute later, a small clearing received him. There was a little girl on the base of a tree, hugging her knees, as fat tears ran down her face.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, not sure if his brain was pranking him again and he was perhaps talking to a simple rock, but just in case he used a gentle tone.
"Shhh," the little girl urged, her eyes widened in panic. "It's close."
Harry frowned. The girl looked real, but so did that wall and he didn't really want to verify the girl's existence.
"Who is close?" he whispered, humouring the girl.
"The monster."
Soon enough, Harry heard heavy steps dragging on the ground and the little girl sprang to her feet.
"Come on, we have to leave," she whispered urgently, tugging on Harry's hand.
It felt wrong. He couldn't leave, he was competing... or maybe he was just hallucinating, in any case, he couldn't leave. There was something wrong, the little girl seemed annoyed by his lack of response and Harry decided to take a few steps away, not giving his back to the approaching beast or the girl.
A shrill scream left the little girl's throat, far too loud and high-pitched for anyone's peace of mind. The creature roared in a deep voice and Harry lowered his wand.
Yes, now he was definitely sure this was his mind's creation.
Large, hairy body, long fangs, and extremities far too long for the body – definitely ugly. The roaring creature was a Keiju. Harry was pretty familiar with them because they were in charge of guiding people through the Emperor's gardens, which resembled intricate labyrinths more than actual gardens. The girl hid behind a tree and the Keiju began whimpering, hiding behind its long arms.
With a sigh, Harry took out the chocolate bar Luna shoved in his pocket this morning and opened it, approaching the Keiju gently.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Here," he whispered gently and the creature looked at him, tilting its head. "Chocolate." With a sigh, Harry took a small bite and did his best to ignore the overly sugared thing that would sure give him cavities.
The Keiju immediately opened its palm and Harry deposited the treat there.
"Can you tell me where the exit is?"
As far as he was concerned, the moment he was drugged and his eardrums were abused by an annoying child, Harry didn't care if he was disqualified.
The Keiju roared once again – or was it its version of a scream – and hid behind Harry when the little girl appeared behind the tree.
"It's tricking you," the girl whined in her annoying high-pitched voice.
Perhaps what Harry did next was not entirely ethical, but he was eighty percent sure he was hallucinating and, in case he wasn't, he was blaming the drugs. With a confused frown, he watched as the annoying child was replaced by a quite hideous and scaly orange monstrosity when he stunned her.
With a shrug, Harry began following the babbling Keiju that led him to the exit and gifted him a hair. He smiled at the creature that began walking away and descended the stairs.
For the third time, Harry was mobbed by a crowd of frantic healers. This time he didn't even fight as he was examined in a conveniently placed couch.
"Drink this, it will alleviate the fungi effects," a healer ordered.
Harry broke the security seal and drank the potion. It tasted to unseasoned mushrooms. Before he could give the healer a judging gaze, Harry caught a glimpse of someone being treated.
"Valerie couldn't finish an obstacle," professor Kowalski said, looking intently at the whispering healers.
"So how much time I was in there?"
"Twenty-seven minutes and forty-three seconds, to be precise."
That was definitely an answer Harry was not expecting, it felt way longer. The professor guessed what was going through his mind.
"The puffskein you saved was trained to guide the champions through the forest so it helped you to avoid many obstacles. Valerie was not so lucky, she entered the snallygasters cave and the proctors hiding in the forest had to intervene."
"Anything serious?" Harry asked, not really caring about the answer.
"Not really, just a nasty bite that needs some care."
Instead of answering, Harry looked at the projection mirror in the room. Iwan was valiantly trying to fight a gigantic rock runespoor. He noted with envy there were no hallucinogen fungi in Iwan's cave. It was definitely unfair for him to be the only one drugged.
Before souring his mood further, Harry decided to take a book and lose himself in the pages. His trance was broken when Iwan barged in the room, followed by healers, cursing harshly under his breath.
"So what happened to you?" Harry asked Iwan once the healers stopped molesting him. The boy was no longer wearing a jacket and there was a long stripe of fabric missing on his thigh.
"The Jorogumo almost turned me in its lunch," Iwan grumbled, thumbing the large rip on his trousers. Harry gave the boy a blank stare. "The ugly orange lizard wearing a dress."
"Ah, I didn't know its name. So how did you provoke it?"
"It was bullying the Keiju. They may be ugly but only a bastard would walk away so I intervened. The thing attacked me and I think the proctors were about to intervene when it knocked off the chocolate the Keiju was munching and you can imagine the rest."
Harry certainly could. While Keiju were generally friendly, no one messed with their food unless you wanted to unleash the beast. Now he pitied the ugly lizard.
"Yep, so I ran away while it was distracted. Did you manage to finish the task?"
"To be honest, I think I was disqualified." The only possible innocent Harry could think of was the puffskein and those creatures were evil, or at least their creepy long tongues were.
"Actually, you were the first champion to complete the task," professor Kowalski said, reminding Harry of her existence.
That was certainly a surprise. "The puffskein?"
"The Keiju, actually."
That was not the answer Harry was expecting. "Keiju are hardly defenceless victims," he deadpanned and Kowalski smirked in response.
"The objective was to protect an innocent, not to save a victim."
"Fair enough," Iwan sighed, unable to hide his disappointment.
"You also completed the task, Mister Bobkov. You protected the Keiju and took the wise decision to retreat once it lost control."
Harry could hear Iwan telling something to the professor, but his eyes were focused on the projection mirror. Ten people managed to subdue the rampaging Keiju, a bag full of treats was offered as a peace sign and they warily escorted it out of the arena while it babbled animatedly. Other two persons appeared and took the shaking lizard out of the arena. The lizard cuddled to the familiar man's chest, as if seeking comfort.
"Don't Jorogumos pray on humans?" asked Iwan, his expression being an amusing mix of horror, disgust, and fascination.
"They do enjoy the taste," the professor muttered, her eyebrows were furrowed and her mouth was slightly open.
Unlike them, Harry was just amused. While Hagrid looked different now – hair tied and trimmed beard – he still had the same affinity with other species. He seriously needed to chat with the man, while they exchanged a few letters throughout the years, they were all about work and Harry actually liked Hagrid.
Once everything was under control, professor Kowalski left the room and soon after the next three champions entered the arena. This was the first time Harry would see his friends competing so he put his book away and focused on the projection mirror. While what they said could not be heard, their actions were clearly captured by the crystals. Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor took the same path and it was obvious they would finish the challenge soon.
Fleur noticed something and whispered to Cedric while Viktor had his wand ready. The rose bush close to them suddenly began throwing thorns but Viktor erected a shield around them while the other two burned the bush. They kept walking.
The swamp they arrived to was different from the one Harry went through, it was green with life and the fresh water rippled gently. It was much nicer than the muddy hellhole he was forced through. Life was truly unfair.
Viktor and Cedric chose a flat rock and enlarged it to fit the three of them, then they charmed it to hover over the water while Fleur was on guard. As they neared firm earth, they deviated and Harry soon understood why. They saw the puffskein trapped in what Harry suspected was devil's snare and tried to free it. While the boys kept the rock levitating, Fleur scared away the plant and caught the puffskein before it fell to the water. Then Harry winced.
Fleur was now missing her left glove. She used what Harry thought was a silencing spell on the creature, if their relieved expressions were anything to go by. The puffskein was destroying the glove, not minding the water, and swam back to the shade of a tree's branches where the devil snare was hiding and began munching on the innocent plant.
"Never touch a puffskein belly," Iwan muttered, looking sympathetic and showing off his left forearm when Harry looked at him. "Things like this happen." There were three long, almost faded scars from wrist to elbow.
It was further proof of puffskeins evil nature. At least Fleur was wearing some protection.
"In the task?" Harry asked, signalling Iwan's forearm.
"Ten years or so ago, my ugly sister got an equally ugly puffskein and I touched its belly once." Harry patted his fellow champion's knee sympathetically.
Someone sat loudly on the couch and Harry sighed. Valerie's expression looked sourer than usual and her pronounced scowl was enough to warn off people, once the glares were added, she looked even grumpier than usual. It was obvious Iwan was a better person than he was because he immediately engaged with the girl, ignoring her clipped and somewhat rude answers. For the sake of his sanity, Harry focused on the mirror once more.
His friends were now in a dark cave, Cedric was leading the group using a four-point charm while Fleur and Viktor had their wands ready. They reached a dead end and began talking. Viktor blasted the wall and sent another spell once it began to regenerate, the three of them run towards the other side and kept walking.
As Harry got bored, something finally happened. A drider blocked their path, looking amused at their plain expressions and raised wands. Looking at the creature Harry remembered why driders were not amongst his favourite creatures, beginning with them having eight legs. Who ever needed eight legs? The ashy blue skin colour did not really bother him and its dark hair looked particularly silky, this noteworthy individual's features were angular and aesthetically pleasing. Actually, its human-like torso was not terrible to look at, but then you had the legs. Those hairy long legs that belonged to spiders. Harry ignored the cold shiver that descended his spine and decided to look away.
His friends and the drider were talking and the first thing Harry noticed was how the drider's expression changed to a slack one while Fleur talked with it. Viktor and Cedric stunned it and Fleur approached it, grabbing its necklace in the process, the three of them ran away before it could wake up.
In the end, Harry finally understood why the necklace was needed. The small stone the necklace had as pendant was used to open a wall-like rock and finally get out of the cave. The part of the forest his friends arrived to was utterly unfamiliar to Harry.
Hedges twice Viktor's height surrounded them and the only option they had was going forward, that or blasting the plants, thing Fleur just did or at least tried to do. Harry narrowed his eyes but the crystals were unable to capture the possible runes that were inhibiting their magic, so he waited to see what happened next.
As expected, the three champions put their wands in their holders and began exploring the place. It was a maze, Harry noted, thanks to a crystal that focused on capturing the events from above. However, none of his friends was passive. Whenever they met a dead end – quite frequently – Cedric used what Harry suspected was augmentation magic to impulse Fleur and Viktor up before jumping to the other side. Considering how unusually strong Fleur was, she received Viktor when he jumped off the hedge. In the end, it was an unusual but quite effective method.
There were a few obstacles in their path (rock acromantulas, enchanted golems that resembled Minotaurs, and even the Hogwarts metal armours joined in), but between the three of them, they had little problem to get through, though the maze was way longer than it had the right to be.
Only thirteen minutes left.
Once they were out, Viktor was carrying a tired Cedric while Fleur took point. Then they reached a familiar clearing where a small girl was crying. Fleur's eyes narrowed and Harry knew it was over. However, unlike the last Jorogumo, this one was particularly violent and its lithe body granted it the speed advantage.
Fleur and Viktor took offensive positions while Cedric remained back, protecting the whimpering Keiju.
It was a bit ridiculous, Harry decided, having three capable mages protecting an overly large creature (that was more than capable of protecting itself but too cowardly to do so) from an ugly orange lizard wearing a frilly dress.
In the end, Viktor lost his patience and began firing spells left and right. One casually hit the lizard and it started floating. Perhaps the creature's screeches got too loud or something similar because Fleur cast an overpowered depulso and the lizard crashed against a dancing sequoia that managed to look offended.
While the two of them were busy, Cedric managed to calm the Keiju down by offering it a small chocolate bar he always carried with him.
They finished the task with only five minutes left.
Harry received his friends once they entered the room, not hiding his satisfaction when they were mobbed by the tetchy healers.