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Chapter Thirty: The Second Task

“Okay, Lucius, you wanted this meeting to offer me a deal, this better be worth my time,” said Harry in a calm voice.

It was a couple weeks after classes had resumed at Hogwarts. After that slanderous article that Darthmorth written, Hagrid had disappeared and had not resumed his duties in teaching Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione, Daphne, Theodore, and Harry had tried their best to get through to Hagrid and try and get him to return, but the half giant was obviously visually disturbed but what Darthmorth wrote.

“Mr. Potter, I assure you it will be well worth your time,” said Lucius. “Now, I am not coming to you as a well respected member of British Magical society but rather I am coming to you as a concerned father. Now let me ask you a question and I would like an honest answer. Do you truly want to ruin Draco’s future by getting his wand snapped and sending him to Azkaban? I agree with the point that he made a careless error but the fact remains he has learned his lesson. Still, I am a reasonable man and if you would agree to drop the charges against Draco, he would never set foot into Hogwarts again and I would send him to Durmstrang to complete the rest of his education.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, he didn’t seem too happy with Malfoy going to Durmstrang and learning even more dark magic.

“Intriguing,” said Harry. “Draco made an error of judgment. You are of course putting the entire blame in his hands when there is someone else partially responsible for this incident. Lucius, I’m not stupid. Someone had to teach him the curse and I have a pretty good idea of who did it.”

Lucius went pale for a few seconds but fought against showing his emotions. He was a well respected member of British magical society and he would not be outwitted by a teenage half blood brat.

“I don’t have a clue of what you are talking about, Mr. Potter,” said Lucius.

“I think you do,” challenged Harry coolly. “A well respected member of the British Magical Community teaching his son forbidden and outlawed dark magic. I think that may in fact be a scandal if someone who leek word to the Daily Prophet. “

Lucius had an irritable look on his face. Potter had him right there unfortunately. This is going to take some quick and creative thinking to get Potter to shut up.

“Okay, Mr. Potter, I see you will not be swayed with reason, perhaps a little donation to your Gringotts vault will keep you from bringing this nasty bit of business to light,” said Lucius.

“Oh, using the Cornelius Fudge method on me, are we Lucius?” asked Harry.

“Two thousand galleons Potter,” said Lucius. “I will transfer you two thousand galleons if you drop the charges against my son and allow him to continue his magical education outside of Hogwarts.”

“Sorry, can’t do that, it’d be breaking the law,” said Harry. “I think if the Daily Prophet hears how you bought me off, it would discredit you even more Lucius.”

“Three thousand galleons then, Mr. Potter,” said Lucius, looking desperate to find Harry Potter’s price so he could shut him up.

Harry shook his head no. He didn’t want Malfoy’s filthy money, especially if it meant that Draco would walk free.

“Five thousand galleons, Mr. Potter,” said Lucius his eyes wide with desperation. “Take it Potter, if you have any bit of decency in you.”

“I have none regarding your son, Lucius,” said Harry coldly. “He dug his own grave by casting that Unforgivable. He’s not going to get out of getting buried in it.”

“What’s your price Potter?” asked Lucius. “Whatever it is, I’ll pay it. I don’t want the name of the Malfoy family ruined…”

“Finally Lucius, we get closer to the truth,” said Harry. “You don’t give a damn about Draco at all, not that I fault you for that, all you care about is the Malfoy family legacy. Draco’s going to Azkaban Lucius and if he isn’t there in six weeks, the Daily Prophet is going to get some very interesting pieces of news about how attempted to bribe me.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” said Lucius in a low voice.

“Oh yes, I would,” said Harry. “I’m afraid this meeting is over and I will be in touch to make sure that Draco’s in Azkaban. If not…well you know the consequences.”

Harry walked off, thinking that last meeting was definitely a waste of his time. Lucius was still attempting to keep his son out of Azkaban but with each attempt, it was definitely strained as it looked like Lucius’s money wasn’t going to win out this time against all the witnesses who had seen Draco use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. Lucius wasn’t used to not having his way and the fact that this wasn’t going his way was eating up the elder Malfoy inside.

Hogwarts was buzzing over the next few weeks. The second task was rapidly approaching and everyone in the school talked about what the champions may have to go up against when the second task happens. The second task was definitely the topic of many conversations over the next several weeks.

Personally, Harry didn’t worry all that much about the second task. All he had to do was retrieve an item at the bottom of the Hogwarts Lake. This task meant little to Harry after had had survived an encounter with a dragon during the first task.

“The second task shouldn’t be too terribly bad but I’m more worried about what you have to face in the third task Harry,” said Hermione when Harry told his friends about this at breakfast one morning. “It’s bound to be something exciting and quite frankly a bit dangerous.”

“Let Harry handle this second task first Hermione before even worrying about the third task,” said Ginny.

“Yes, one thing at a time,” said Harry. “Still, I’m really not focused on the Triwizard Tournament. It’s the fact that Hagrid hasn’t left his house since Darthmorth wrote that article that’s disturbing me.”

“I know what you mean,” said Daphne. “We tried talking to him countless times, even yelling through his windows but he refuses to budge, no matter what. As much as I like not having to deal with the Skrewts any more, it’s just a matter of principle.”

“Yeah, that Grubbly-Plank woman knows the subject matter, I’ll grant that, but Care of Magical Creatures is not the same without Hagrid,” said Theodore.

“Yes it was a definite reward for his future in the Magical world being ruined by Tom Riddle all those years ago,” said Harry, dropping his voice low. “Now, Darthmorth has ripped it away from him by causing Hagrid to lose his confidence by that article.”

“Darthmorth’s article was designed to get Hagrid out of Hogwarts,” said Hermione. “I just know it. The Ministry isn’t pleased with Hagrid even being here, due to the fact he’s a little bit different. Just like the article about Harry was attempting to discredit him as the Ministry is panicking that you have so much popularity with the younger Hogwarts students, Harry. Especially the purebloods in power, they are seeing their perfect little society about how it’s been since anyone can remember, crumble into dust.”

“Fudge wants the power for himself, he doesn’t want anyone who might be able to sway public opinion against him,” said Harry. “As much as I despise the man, there are definitely attempts to discredit Dumbledore in Darthmorth’s writing. I don’t think Fudge likes playing third fiddle to Dumbledore and me.”

“Harry, you may just be on to something,” said Daphne looking thoughtful.

“We can’t let Darthmorth break people down through his articles,” said Theodore.

“Agreed, we get Hagrid to come back, by the end of the day,” said Ginny. “No matter how long it takes.”

“Yes, I agree with Ginny,” said Harry. “After lessons today, we go and attempt to get Hagrid to come out of his hut so he can return and teach Care of Magical creatures.”

Lucius Malfoy walked deep into Knockturn alley, pulling the hood over his face and with his wand at the ready. The further a person went into Knockturn alley, the more darker and sinister the shops and people running them were. Even through Lucius was a well respected pureblood that mattered little to the types of people and creatures who frequented the deepest, darkest portions of Knockturn alley.

Lucius spun around at a sound, but it was merely only a raven cawing at him. After a few more anxious moments, Lucius reached his destination at the very end of Knockturn alley. The shadiest place of them all, the seediest pub all of Magical Britain greeted Lucius. It was a sinister place known as The Decapitated Phoenix.

The wood was completely rotted, the hinges on the door were extremely rusty, and mold was growing on the side of the building. Lucius pushed the door open with a creek, as all of the members of pub stared at Lucius, with hungry expressions in their eyes. There were hags, werewolves, vampires, and various other bits of nastiness in this pub.

The bartender, a hunchbacked woman with an eye patch and a mullet, walked up to Lucius, sizing him up before addressing him.

“What do you want?” asked the woman in a mannish, raspy voice.

“I would like to inquire about hiring an assassin to take out a little problem I have,” said Lucius before dropping his voice to a cryptic whisper. “I want to see Marcos.”

All of the patrons of the bar dropped clanged their glasses on the table. This pompous pretty boy wanted to speak to the cruelest assassin of them all, Marcos. The man who killed two transformed werewolves with his bare hands just to prove he could. The bastard ate small children for breakfast due to them apparently being high in protein, in his demented words. This man was sick and sadistic. Not a Death Eater by any means, but a master assassin and former hit wizard from the Ministry of Magic who had quit the Ministry due to them having too many laws that cramped his style.

“Back room, sweetheart,” said the bartender. “Enjoy the last few moments of your life as Marcos doesn’t like to be disturbed.”

Lucius nodded, gulping. He needed to get Potter to drop the charges against his son but he wondered if talking to this terror was really the right way to go on about it.

Lucius pushed open the back room, to be greeted by a cloud of smoke. A crunch underneath his foot signaled that Lucius had stepped on a human skull which caused the elder Malfoy to jump. Sitting on a very rusty metal folding chair in front of a card table was a disfigured man tearing into a piece of raw meet. This man had a scar on the right side of his face, from the bottom of his ear down to his shoulder. Half of this man’s left ear was missing. A chunk of his jaw appeared to have been torn out and he had many disgusting scars plastered upon his forehead. His teeth were extremely yellow and one of his arms had been replaced by a metal prosthetic arm.

“Yes, what it is you want, you pompous jerk,” growled Marcos, in between ripping into the raw meat with his teeth.

“Marcos?” asked Lucius.

“That’s my name you pussy, don’t wear it out or I’ll kill you for doing so,” said Marcos casually.

“I wanted to inquire about acquiring your services for killing someone,” said Lucius in a cool tone of voice although there was definitely nervousness seeping through.

“Depends on if the price is right,” said Marcos, picking up a human bone and using it to pick his teeth. “Well?”

“Uh, two thousand galleons,” said Lucius throwing a bag of galleons down on the tables.

Marcos opened up the bag and smirked as he saw it.

“I’ll do it, but I do need to know who I need to kill,” said Marcos, glaring at Lucius.

“Harry Potter,” said Lucius simply.

“Harry Potter, did you say?” asked Marcos with interest. “Well isn’t that something. I wanted to test my skills against the famous Harry Potter.”

“Really?” asked Lucius.

“No you pompous fool, I was being sarcastic, I could care less about how my skills match up against a fourteen year old child,” said Marcos. “Still, he will be killed, you can bank on that. “

“I’ll just be leaving,” said Lucius backing away nervously.

“Yes, go, before I change my mind about killing you on principle,” said Marcos.

Lucius turned and walked out quickly to avoid the wrath of Marcos. Marcos continued eating his raw piece of meat, while plotting creative ways about how to kill Harry Potter. There should be a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, that would be a perfect time to strike against Potter.

“Hagrid, we know you are in there, open up!” yelled Ginny, pounding on the door of Hagrid’s hut. She was joined by Daphne, Theodore, Harry, and Hermione, who were all trying to get Hagrid to come out and return to Care of Magical creatures.

“Hagrid, we honestly want to talk to you,” said Harry. “You really shouldn’t take what Darthmorth writes too seriously. He hates everyone; it isn’t just you he’s going after.”

“Yeah, come on Hagrid, you can’t hide for ever, please open up,” said Hermione.

“Hagrid, open up, we really don’t care if you are a half giant or not,” said Theodore. “It really doesn’t matter too much, as we know you would never hurt someone intentionally.”

“That is it,” said Harry, his temper rising. “Hagrid, you have exactly five seconds to answer the door. We will blast it open if you don’t come out.”

Nothing so Harry raised his wand.

“Harry, maybe you should…” said Hermione in a tentative voice but Harry paid her no mind.

“Alohomora!” cried Harry, causing the door of Hagrid’s hut to blast open.

Harry and his friends entered Hagrid’s hut but they found no one there. The place was empty. Not even one of Hagrid’s belongings remained in the Hut, even Fang was gone.

“Wait, there’s nothing here,” said Daphne. “That’s odd.”

“Hang on, there is this note,” said Hermione, pointing to a note taped to the wall of Hagrid’s hut.

Hermione reached over and took the note off the wall of the hut. She held it so the others could read it.

Dear anyone who reads this note:

I’m sorry if I’ve let anyone down, but I’m leaving Hogwarts at this time because of the negative backlash Darthmorth’s article has caused my reputation. There is nothing anyone can do to convince me otherwise. Dumbledore’s being pressured by the Ministry of Magic to sack me and he’s got enough on his plate as is, so I am going to save him grief and leave the grounds of Hogwarts for ever. That fool Darthmorth ruined what little hope I had after being expelled from Hogwarts and I can’t go on with what everyone is surely to think about me now. It isn’t the fact he exposed me as a half giant that bothered me, it is how he wrote about me that caused me to make the decision to leave Hogwarts. For anyone who still believes in me and doesn’t hold any grudges against me due to the fact that I am a half giant, I thank you. Yet, I don’t blame anyone if you do, as that’s just the way Wizarding society works. The only person I blame is Darthmorth and I hope someday he will be taught a lesson.

All the best,

Rubeus Hagrid, ex Care of Magical Creatures teacher and gamekeeper at Hogwarts.

P.S.: I’m not going to leave any word about where I have moved to as I don’t want anyone to convince me to come back to Hogwarts. Dumbledore knows and that’s all there is to it.

“We’re too late,” said Daphne in a grave tone of voice. “He’s go and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“We couldn’t do anything, the Ministry would have eventually pushed hard enough to get rid of him,” said Theodore.

“We could have done something,” said Harry. “I could have done something, I should have attempted to get through to Hagrid more, sooner then we did. Now there is nothing we can do since Hagrid’s gone and we have no way to contact him, as I’m not exactly on good speaking terms with Dumbledore.”

“Harry, this isn’t your fault,” said Ginny. “It’s only Darthmorth’s fault, he was the one that wrote that article ripping into Hagrid, not you.”

Harry sighed, he knew his girlfriend was right but it didn’t help that he felt a little guilty. There was a small part of his mind that felt he could have done something more to help Hagrid before he decided to pack up and leave the grounds of Hogwarts. Now it was too late.

The night before the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry was planning on going to bed early. Ginny and Harry were walking from the library after doing homework together when Professor McGonagall approached the two.

“Miss Weasley, I wish to speak to you briefly in my office,” said McGonagall.

Harry looked reluctant to let go of Ginny’s hand and let her go off on her own to someone’s office. The last time this happened, she spent three months in St. Mungos and Harry didn’t want to ever go through something like that ever again as long as he lived.

“No need to be alarmed, Potter,” said McGonagall. “It’s nothing serious; I just want a quick word in my office. Why don’t you run along to bed, as you no doubt want to be well rested for the second task.”

“Harry, I can handle myself if anything comes up,” said Ginny before dropping her voice. “After all, you taught me how to.”

“Right Ginny, good night,” said Harry, kissing his girlfriend good night before walking off. It was probably nothing to serious and Ginny did know enough to defend herself, both magically and with martial arts.

Harry had a very restless night’s sleep as what might be against him in the second task plagued him. He looked very tired as he joined Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione for breakfast.

“Harry, we haven’t seen Ginny all morning,” said Hermione in a frantic voice. “We’re wondering where she is.”

Harry looked around.

“I haven’t got the slightest idea, she went to McGonagall’s office last night and….” said Harry before trailing off. “The thing that I miss the most, the second task. THEY DIDN’T! THAT NO GOOD SON OF A BITCH OF A HEADMASTER!”

“Harry, what…” said Theodore.

“They’re putting Ginny at the bottom of the lake at some undetermined spot and I only have an hour to rescue her, or she’s doomed,” said Harry. “You heard the egg. If I don’t find her in the hour…she won’t be coming back.”

Harry had a terrified look on his face but leave it to Hermione to be reasonable in the time of a crisis.

“Harry, I’m sure Ginny will be okay, this will all work out,” said Hermione.

“It better,” said Harry darkly. “This is Dumbledore’s doing, this was his idea to put the hostages at the bottom of the lake.”

“Well, he was responsible for bringing back the Triwizard Tournament, so I imagine so,” said Daphne choosing her words carefully.

“If Ginny isn’t okay, Hogwarts will need a new Headmaster,” said Harry through clenched teeth. “And I’ll probably be going back to Azkaban due to murdering this one due to putting my girlfriend in danger.”

“Harry!” yelled Hermione.

“Don’t Harry me, Hermione,” said Harry in a dangerous tone of voice and narrowing his eyes causing Hermione to gulp. “He’s messing with my life again, putting someone I love at the bottom of that lake. Dumbledore will pay if one hair is harmed on Ginny’s head.”

Harry pulled himself up to his feet; preparing to get ready for what would be the most crucial test of his life. He wasn’t going to fail Ginny. He was going to rescue her from the bottom of the lake or die trying.

Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore felt uncomfortable. Harry wasn’t in a good mood due to the fact that Ginny was put at the bottom of the lake during that task.

“So, what exactly was Harry storming off about?” asked Hailey who had come up to the Slytherin table to see the cause of the commotion.

“The second task,” said Daphne darkly.

“Oh, he found out what they put at the bottom of the lake for him to get,” said Hailey.

“More like whom,” said Hermione. “Ginny’s the thing that Harry would miss the most and he has to save her.”

“Hermione, no disrespect meant when I say this but well duh,” said Hailey rolling her eyes. “It should be obvious to anyone with a working pair of eyes that Harry would miss Ginny above all else.”

“She’s got a point,” said Daphne nodding her head.

“Yes, she does,” said Theodore.

Harry was at the edge of the lake, preparing to put a bubble headed charm on himself. The minute Bagman gave the okay to start the task; he was going to jump in straight away and save Ginny. He didn’t have a second to spare.

He looked up at the judges, who were getting together on top of the podium. Crouch was apparently ill again, as Percy Weasley appeared to take over the judging duties. Harry didn’t pay too much attention to this fact, as he was extremely worried about the danger that Ginny was in.

The other champions prepared in front of the lake as Bagman stood up, pointing his wand to his throat before turning to address everyone.

“Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and champions,” said Bagman in an excited voice. “The second task of the Triwizard tournament is about to start. Champions will be given a few minutes to prepare themselves as they are to retrieve a hostage held by the merpeople of Hogwarts Lake. It should be exciting.”

“Oh bite me, Bagman,” grumbled Harry underneath his breath before putting the bubble headed charm on himself wordlessly. He didn’t think there was anything too exciting about having the love of his life in peril underneath the lake, not knowing if Harry could make it to her in time to save her. It was definitely an anxious moment for Harry. The only thing that might have compared to this was when Harry was attacked by dozens of Foot ninjas the summer after his second year of Hogwarts and Harry didn’t know how he was gong to get out of that one either.

“Okay champions, ready yourselves,” said Bagman. “And let the second task begin.”

Harry quickly somersaulted before splashing into the lake the minute Bagman gave them the go ahead to begin. He didn’t have a moment to waste as he swam around, his wand out ready to defend himself at a second’s notice.

He heard the other champions behind him but Harry turned to an underwater cave, scanning it with his wand but he found nothing. Finding Ginny was going to take more than a minute and was going to take every bit of cunning that Harry possessed to reach her in time.

Harry felt something grab his foot. Deep in the lake was a Grindylow, ready to gnaw on Harry’s right foot but Harry managed to kick the Grindylow in the face with his foot. The Grindylow flew back, shaking its fist at Harry before another group of Grindylows surfaced out of the lake, swimming right towards Harry.

Harry pointed his wand out them; ready engage the Grindylows in battle. The Grindylows raised their claws at Harry but Harry jabbed his wand towards them, sending jets of boiling water towards them. A sickening shriek was hurt as the Grindylows were burnt from getting blasted with the boiling water. Smirking, Harry swam, preparing to continue his quest for Ginny. The time was anxiously ticking away and Harry had to find her. He just had to find Ginny or he didn’t know how he would live with himself.

Harry looked seeing a merperson in the distance. Harry was definitely getting close to Ginny, he could sense it. Only just a little bit longer of intense searching and Harry would retrieve her.

Harry felt something grab him from behind.

“What the?” asked Harry before turning around, seeing Cedric Diggory grabbing him, pushing him down to the floor of the ocean while binding his hands and feet with some kind of plant at the bottom of the lake. Harry struggled but could not rip himself free from his bonds.

“Potter, I can’t let you win this task or the Triwizard, it would be an embarrassment for all of Hogwarts and the magical world as a whole to have the likes of you to win,” said Diggory, placing Harry’s wand just out of his reach.

“This is low Diggory, really low,” said Harry as he found the Grindylows swimming up to him, looking at the trapped Harry like some kind of delicious meal.

“I’ve got to collect Cho,” said Diggory. “I’ll win this task, as I am the real Hogwarts champion and you are nothing but a pretender Potter and an embarrassment to the Wizarding world by changing the way things are supposed to be.”

Diggory swam off as Harry felt the Grindylows closing in. Of course, being a ninja as well as a wizard, Harry had a few tricks up his sleeve and in this case, quite literally. Harry managed to jar his sleeve so a dagger came out. With a little hard work, Harry managed to cut himself free from what Diggory tied him up with.

“Sorry boys, but wizard stew is not on the menu for this evening,” said Harry, picking up his wand and wordlessly blasting jets of boiling hot water towards the Grindylows causing them to yelp in pain.

Harry swam, being passed by Viktor Krum who didn’t even acknowledge his presence. Harry figured he had only about twenty minutes left before Ginny was gone forever and he needed to move quickly.

“Finally,” said Harry, seeing a statue with Ginny and three others tied to it surrounded by a group of sinister looking merpeople. Diggory had already arrived and he was cutting Cho Chang free from the statue with some kind of spell. There was a small girl who looked like she was Fleur’s sister and a friend of Krum’s from Durmstrang.

“What, Potter, how?” asked Diggory.

“That doesn’t matter,” said Harry before swimming over to where Ginny was tied up and pulling out his dagger. Harry began to cut the bindings off of Ginny and managed to snap them free a half a second before Diggory could with his spell.

Harry grabbed Ginny, she looked as if she was in some kind of suspended animation and Harry was getting flashbacks from the Chamber of Secrets, something that was most definitely unwelcomed.

“Ginny, we’re getting out of here,” said Harry quietly, scooping Ginny up and pushing himself to the surface.

“No you don’t Potter, you’re not winning this task,” said Diggory, grabbing Harry by the ankle with the hand that he didn’t have Cho in.

“Hang the stupid tournament, I want to get Ginny out of here,” said Harry.

“I don’t care what you want you slimy Slytherin,” said Diggory angrily.

“Let go of me damnit!” yelled Harry.

“Never,” said Diggory in a stubborn voice. “I have to win. For the good of all of Hogwarts, I need to stop you from winning the Triwizard Tournament.”

“All right, you asked for it,” said Harry kicking Diggory in the jaw with his free foot causing his head to snap back. Blood began pouring from Diggory’s jaw, flowing everywhere throughout the lake.

Harry scooped Ginny up, pulling both of them up towards the surface.

“Harry,” said Ginny groggily, waking up as Harry struggled to keep both of them afloat.

“Ginny, are you okay?” asked Harry in a terrified tone of voice.

“I am now,” said Ginny, grabbing onto Harry’s neck. “Dumbledore put us in some kind of suspended animation, not even asking for our permission and I couldn’t stop him.”

“Ginny, don’t worry about it, you’re okay now and that’s all that matters to me,” said Harry as they got closer to the edge of the lake. It seems during the time Diggory delayed Harry, both Fleur and Krum had reached their hostages. Harry didn’t care about the fact that he was only the third to return, all he cared about that Ginny was out of the line of danger.

They pulled themselves up onto the land. Harry feeling relieved as Madam Pomfrey ushered them both, wrapping blankets around them before having them sit on a bench.

“Sit and don’t move,” ordered Madam Pomfrey. “Both of you have been in that ice cold water for who knows how long and you don’t want to catch a deathly cold.”

Harry sighed in relief as he saw Cedric return with Cho, with a broken jaw and all from when Harry belted him. Ginny rested her head down on Harry’s shoulder as the final champion and his hostage made it up to the land.

Dumbledore bent his head down, talking to the head of the merpeople who made a screechy sound that Dumbledore seemed to understand and he turned to the other four judges, who had a brief meeting about what had happened down in the lake. After a few tense minutes, Bagman turned to address the spectators.

“After a brief conference, we have decided the marks will be awarded, out of fifty, in this fashion,” said Bagman. “First, to Mr. Viktor Krum, the first champion who returned with his hostage in the tournament, we award the following point values. He did return to his hostage first but used an incomplete form of Transfiguration that could have caused him to rip his hostage to pieces. Because of this, we award Krum, forty points for his efforts at the bottom of the lake.”

The Durmstrang supporters cheered as Krum looked down at the ground, attempting to look modest.

“Next, to the second person to return with their hostage, Miss Fleur Delacour,” said Bagman in a booming, excited tone of voice. “Miss Delacour returned with her hostage second, using a bubble headed charm to great effect. She managed to get to her hostage promptly, with no hitches except a brief encounter with Grindylows that she managed to fight off. Therefore, we award her forty two points!”

Bagman paused for the crowd to soak in.

“Next we have Mr. Cedric Diggory, the final person to return with his hostage,” said Bagman. “We are very displeased that he attempted to sabotage the efforts of another champion, in addition to suffering an injury. Despite all this, he did successfully recover his hostage from the bottom of the lake so thirty points will be awarded for Mr. Diggory’s efforts in this task.”

Bagman stopped for a minute for dramatic effect before continuing.

“Now for the matter of Harry Potter,” said Bagman. “He retrieved his hostage successfully, using the bubble headed charm. Mr. Potter managed to get to his hostage despite several attempts of Grindylows to attack him and the attempted sabotage of a fellow champion. He has shown great strength and courage the way he fought the obstacles and managed to rescue his hostage just in time despite all the perils he had to face. Most of us would think this would merit a full score…”

With that Bagman glared at Karkaroff for a brief second who didn’t seem affected by it at all.

“Be that as it may, Mr. Potter still scores the most points in this tournament, with forty four points,” said Bagman causing the majority of the people in attendance to explode into cheers.

Harry was in the lead of the Triwizard Tournament. Despite having to go up against champions with years more magical education then he had, he was in the lead. For the first time since he entered, Harry briefly imagined actually winning the Triwizard Tournament but still there was a lingering thought of paranoia in the back of his head. Someone entered his name in the Goblet of Fire in an attempt to finish Harry off. They only had one more task to attempt to accomplish their goal.