Chapter 31: Grief of the Fourth Task

Harry Potter was sitting on the grass, enjoying the gentle breeze while he watched Luna play with the thestrals. In the last few months, it almost became their holy tradition to visit the thestrals every few days or so, always carrying a heavy bag of treats for the horses and some snacks for themselves. Of course, there was also Louie playing with Luna. What a strange cat, that one.

The school year would soon be over as they entered May. Harry would like to say the months went by quickly but, actually, they dragged on. With three of the members focused on studying for their ICW standardised test, four of the members focusing on the apprenticeships they accepted not long ago and dedicating all their free time to it, along with the personal goals of each member of the Court, the last months were almost painful. And that is without counting the Hogwarts mystery.

After much discussion, the Court finally decided to solve the puzzle the castle was offering them. If the object was too dangerous and truly indestructible, then it would be dropped in the middle of the sea and never see the light again. If it was not, well, then they would see what to do.

The Sorting Hat was not pleased with their decision, but it helped them reluctantly.

After bargaining with the annoying hat, they finally knew what some of the pieces to open the room were. Once one thought about it, it was pretty obvious. Of course, they had to find them first but at least they had two out of five: Salazar's unfinished wand and Helena's diary. They needed to open the other rooms to get the other two keys. Harry strongly suspected the hat itself was the third key, but he needed at least another five sessions of talking before it revealed any detail.

A panting Luna sat beside him and gulped greedily on the closest water bottle. Louie was fighting with a thestral for a piece of bacon, the poor horse retreated when the cat showed its claws.

"It is peaceful, don't you think?" Luna asked, her eyes were glued to the foals that were experimenting with their wings.

It actually was peaceful, Harry had to agree. The sounds of the forest were a welcome change to the usual cacophony in the castle, he preferred this. Hedwig soared into the clearing and stole the chicken leg Louie was eyeing, settling on the closest tree. She actually looked as if she was goading the cat.

"Can you promise me something?" Luna asked and Harry looked at her, but she was still looking at the foals.

"Of course," he promised, not an answer he would give any other person than her and his sister.

However, instead of answering, Luna kept looking at the playing foals so Harry stayed silent until she was ready to speak.

"Harry, promise me you will never use what is hidden in the forest," Luna said, her dreamy expression replaced by one of sombre seriousness. "I need you to promise me you will never use it, no matter what happens."

He frowned, but decided to trust Luna.

"I swear," he said, but Luna denied with her head.

Luna took his hand and Harry flinched when he felt magic buzzing in his veins. "It would be better if no one learnt what the castle is hiding," she muttered so softly Harry actually doubted he heard correctly.

Harry was frowning, but Luna relaxed and leaned against his shoulder. They didn't speak.

"Thank you," Luna whispered after some time and Harry only smiled at her.

Harry glanced at the sky when he heard thunder in the distance. A storm was brewing on the horizon.

The fourth task was in a few hours. For the first time, Harry was anxious, extremely so. However, it had nothing to do with the competition.

The castle was acting strange, emitting emergency flares at random for a few weeks now, but they intensified two days ago. Harry asked his security elves to look around and they found nothing. As the wards were slowly replaced, Hogwarts was able to communicate better and he was not sure if it was a change he liked. The constant pit in his stomach and the never ending wariness was not exactly welcomed. Too much stress.

If the castle felt there was an enemy close, then there was an enemy close. The frightening part was not knowing who the enemy was.

Harry felt his anxiety increase as he walked towards the great hall and judging by his friend's tense postures, he was not the only one.

"Neville, Hestia, Terrence, go to the infirmary and help Blaise and Draco babysit Luna," Harry said in a modulated tone, forcing his facial muscles to form a smile that no one returned.

The three of them simply took the next hallway and left, testament of their tension was the lack of protest. Daphne gripped Harry's forearm and he looked at her. She was pale and her shoulders overly tense, the only comfort he could offer was an awkward pat on the arm.

After taking a deep breath, Harry began mentally going over the ingredients of a potion in an effort to calm down. It is irrational, he thought, yet, the apprehension refused to leave. How he wished Luna was here.

Then, Harry cursed. The last thing he needed was more stress, which meant he could not think about her.

Luna woke up with a migraine, a really bad one. Fleur was the one who took her to the infirmary and told the others, unsurprisingly, Blaise offered to spend the day with her. Considering how anxious Hogwarts was, Draco decided to join Blaise. It is nothing, everything will be fine, Harry said to himself, unable to believe his own words.

Once he entered the great hall, he led his group to their usual place at the table. The contrast between the mood of the Court and the student body was bizarre, Harry decided. Everyone seemed excited, cheerful even, talking merrily about the fourth task and wondering who the winner would be. Even the teachers were having animated conversations. It clashed horribly with how silent the Court was.

Someone tapped Harry's shoulder and he almost jumped out of the bench. When he noticed it was only a first year, he did his best not to glare and tried to convince his heart to stop trying to escape his chest.

"Yes?" Harry asked as gently as he could to the fidgeting kid.

"I was told to give you this," the kid squealed, handing him a piece of parchment and running away.

Harry frowned as he watched the child, just like the rest of the hall. Knowing the uncomfortable sensation of being watched, he decided to turn towards his friends. Once he read the note, he wished he could bring that damn brat back and question her. He took a deep breath and kept his expression neutral, doing his best to feel the magic that bonded the Court together through the mark.

He couldn't feel Draco.

He tried once again after taking a shaky breath. Nothing. Draco was not in the castle or anywhere near. Harry bit his tongue and did his best not to curse.

Damn it! Harry grinded his teeth as he cursed himself for not being more observant. He was so worried about the identity of the possible enemy that he ignored the magic of the mark and now was paying for that mistake.

Draco was taken.

Harry glanced at the note again before placing it inside the book he was carrying for today. Noticing the worried looks from his friends, Harry gave them his best reassuring smiles. Judging by Flora's frown, he was not doing a good job

Dear Mister Potter,

You do not know me but I know about you. Do not worry, we will be meeting soon. As a way of securing your compliance to our amicable meeting, I took the liberty of loaning a friend of yours. Do not fret, Mister Potter, you will be able to retrieve your friend once we meet. Of course, as long as you arrive on time nothing too terrible will happen.

However, let me warn you. This must remain between us. I have some acquaintances looking over you and our dear friends for today. Just in case you decide to relay this information to Mister Black, Minister Bones, or Auror Moody, I must tell you I also have a few people watching them. If a single word about our meeting reaches other ears, then I fear I will no longer be able to return your friend.

The trophy for the champion of today's events will be enchanted to bring you to me. For your friend's well being, do your best to obtain it.

Sincerely and eagerly waiting,

Tristam Lexe Bilaub

Harry felt bile rise to his throat and tried to feel all his friends. Almost everyone was in the castle. He could distantly feel Marcus' and Elizabeth's magic pulsing, he could still communicate with them. Draco felt different. The connection was muddled, Harry could barely feel Draco's magic and he suspected his friend was incapacitated by some magical means and kept unconscious.

This was his fault.

The castle warned them against an enemy from the day the Court was formed but they did nothing against it and now they were paying the price. Harry knew that whatever happened to Draco today was going to be his fault, the least he could do is try his best to keep him safe.

A hand gripped Harry's knee with unnecessary strength and he looked at the culprit. Fleur was looking at him, while her expression was neutral, he could almost feel her worry. Should he tell them? Of course he should. This was not something he could solve alone.

Taking a deep breath, Harry decided to relay the message.

Draco taken. Danger. They watch.

Immediately, the atmosphere changed.

The best solution was telling the authorities, let them take care of it. However, there was a problem. Whoever took Draco warned him against it. The chances of that person actually having spies near the Ministry were almost null, but still existed.

The disappearances continued as did the convenient "natural" deaths. Harry would never take this risk and gamble Draco's life.

Taking a deep breath, Harry did his best to block his emotions and his friends' fluctuating magic. He needed a cold head for this.

Daphne, George, Adrian. Infirmary. Talk Luna.

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw George accidentally spilling hot tea on Daphne, who jumped off her seat and tried to attack him until Adrian took hold of her and began dragging her out of the great hall. George was following, muttering quite loudly about his little sister being the only beneficiary of his will.

To anyone's eye, that was a casual accident. Harry knew better, they were possibly being watched.

Cedric enchanted a tray of scones to fly around and challenged the others. The one who caught the most earned the whole tray. Almost everyone joined. Excellent, now they had an excuse to look around.

Soon enough, Harry realised how hard it was to actually deal with the student's constant scrutiny. Even now, they were being observed by many and it was impossible to distinguish between ally and foe. However, there were also a few teachers watching them for the day. McGonagall was smiling at them, Flitwick looked confused by the unusual energy at the early hour – Harry hoped the man noticed there was something wrong. Kowalski and her assistant were also looking, though Harry had the impression the woman was not looking at them exactly, but at the Slytherin table as a whole.

In any case, it was hard to know who the spy was.

"Good morning students!" McGonagall greeted, smiling brightly. "Today is the fourth and last task, the day the Trischool Tournament will end. In only two weeks, twenty-four of our students will be leaving... What can I say? Time flies by. I still remember the day our students arrived as guests, unsure of what their place was. I am so happy to see how they learnt to see Hogwarts as their home, but let's leave goodbyes for later, for the day they are needed.

"Today I want to talk about change. This term was filled with it, this whole year was filled with changes all of you adapted to. Today, the Trischool Tournament ends. It certainly marked a before and an after in this country and this school. I hope that, in the future, when the storm is over, we can unite again through it.

"I want to congratulate our six champions for their hard work. I also want to congratulate all the club leaders for their dedication, the students, for persevering in these hard times. To the staff for working so hard and the ghosts for brightening our lives. To everyone in the castle for prevailing despite the storm raging outside. These are hard times and many of the present lost loved ones, and... It is hard, but we will make it."

As the headmistress gave her speech, Harry realised how bad the situation actually was. Of course, he intellectually understood the situation, but he always saw the casualties as numbers, never as people. Now, it was hard not to see them as such.

There were students, children, with teary eyes. McGonagall herself was sporting glistening eyes and looking at the table, taking a moment to compose herself.

Now that Harry could lose someone important, it was hard not to see how many may be in his position.

The Ministry was doing its best, but it was not enough. There were random attacks in the muggle world that needed much cleanup from the aurors and obliviators. There were disappearances, not many, but enough to instil fear in the people. If an auror disappeared with no trace, what would happen to a normal citizen? Dozens of aurors were constantly patrolling the alley, it was enough to remind the people of the danger. Harry guessed the tasks were one of the few things the people had to look forward to.

Harry was perfectly aware of how many first generations and half bloods were targeted, but he knew none of them didn't affect him. Now, it was easy to see his mistake. Sirius told him about people walking in groups for protection, Harry could understand how demoralising that must be.

Should he be worrying about it? Not really, Harry ensured the safety of those who worked for him and that was enough until today. He had other things to worry about.

However, it was likely for the person who took Draco to be linked with the terrorists causing havoc in Britain. If they were indeed linked, then they turned it into Harry's problem. No one was allowed to harm his family.

No one was allowed to harm the Court.

The ride to the stadium was a tense one. For some reason, professor Kowalski was not escorting them this time. In her place, there was professor Somerhalder along with professor Munter.

Perhaps the teachers were unwilling to favour any of the champions so they remained silent. Iwan was intently picking at his nails while Valerie seemed to be on the border of a nervous breakdown. Any other day, Harry would be amused by the situation, but not today.

Cedric looked pale and Fleur was constantly rubbing his forearm in an effort to offer comfort, no matter how shallow it was. Viktor was breathing shallowly and Harry noticed how he constantly pulsed his magic on the mark in an effort to find Draco. There was no answer. Fleur looked... strange, that is the best word Harry could find to describe her. Her usually gentle visage was devoid of emotion and her nails already turned into claws, carefully hidden by her robe.

And he? Harry was not really sure how he was feeling.

Powerless, that one was obvious. Aside from that, there was nothing. Well, perhaps that was not right. There was so much Harry could not even classify his feelings, so he didn't. Harry simply stared at his lap and pretended his meagre breakfast was the reason for his queasy stomach.

Once they arrived at the now familiar room, after going through the checks, Harry sat on the closest couch and concentrated on the mark. There was still no sign of Draco. A loud pop interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Sir! I forgot to iron your tracksuit. I am very sorry sir, I brought a replacement!" Ella almost yelled, her big eyes looking even bigger.

Harry almost smiled at his friend. Ella was indeed a clever girl. He easily recognized the bag where his protective gear was stored. It was as conspicuous as it could get, but hopefully unrecognisable without the cloak.

"Thank you, Ella," Harry managed to say and Ella's eyes softened.

"Ares and Mars reminded me of it. Don't worry." With those words and after giving Harry a toothy grin, Ella left the room with a pop.

Once he decided to look up, Harry noticed his friends were doing a good job by distracting the room. They obviously noticed Ella, but no one asked about it. The door opened and a familiar man entered the room.

"Uncle Xenophilius!" Fleur greeted the man, looking ten times less gloom.

"Good morning, good morning," Luna's dad said in his impressively calm voice. "I had a feeling I would be needed today so here I am. Old man Westerberg was almost asked to be the commentator, all the hogweed he was forced to consume is making him walk in the clouds. Poor man."

"Ah, yes, good morning," professor Somerhalder said, an obviously fake smile plastered on her face.

"Xenophilius, good to see you!"

"Likewise, Benedict. Now, let me explain the task. Today there will be no assigned teams. Your objective is to protect something that will be entrusted to you and take it to its rightful place. For this task, you are allowed to duel other champions and try to sabotage them, though no lethal spells are allowed. Now, the champions will enter depending on their score. Miss Aguillon, you are first. Wait for the signal. Once the competition begins, that magical mirror will be displaying everything so the champions with the highest scores will have a big advantage. May Fortuna guide your steps today."

Uncle Xenophilius winked at Harry and left, humming merrily.

"Go and change now, you have ten minutes," Professor Somerhalder said, looking at Valerie and Harry.

Once Harry entered the changing room, he took out his clothes. There was a piece of paper on the bag.

Not even Dobby can feel Draco. A and M suspect he is under some kind of sacrificial wards. C, F, and V will go with you. We are ready.

The paper burned until only cinders remained, Harry vanished them. He put on the armour and left the bathroom without looking back. Though he did put on the tracksuit's jacket to make it less conspicuous. On his way back, he met with his friends.

"Viktor spilt ink over us," Fleur sighed. Harry didn't miss the familiar bags they carried.

"We asked Dudi to bring some clothes," Cedric added, nodding at him.

"Hurry up."

Harry entered the room and concentrated on the mark. There was still no sign of Draco.

Amelia Bones watched the arena from her seat, cordial mask in place. The chair the Czarina once used was occupied by the Estonian Minister, Ruben Harma.

The situation in the Northern Union was uncertain and France was not that far behind. Europe in general was a disaster. Disappearances, murders, strange political movements. Amelia knew war was coming, turning Voldemort into the least of her problems.

Absently, she heard Xenophilius telling the public about the task. Perhaps it was not wise for it to take place, but the people needed some kind of light, no matter how small. These days it's really hard to find a reason to be happy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fourth and final task," Xenophilius said in that strangely soothing voice of his. Perhaps he wasn't the best option for emcee, but she didn't know Mister Westerberg well enough so it would have to do. "Now, as you can see, the arena is divided into two parts. Rainforest and desert. Each one of them was given a hitodama, or spirit light, that they have to protect. As you know, a hitodama is sensitive and disappears when anything grazes it.

"The objective today is to transport the hitodama towards the lantern on top of the waterfall in the middle of the arena. The champions were randomly placed on a side of the arena and they will be entering according to their scores. Traditionally, the champion with the highest score would be the first to enter in order to have the time advantage, but this task is designed in a different way.

"This is a test of survival, without really putting our champions in real peril. Wit, shrewd, and resourcefulness will be tested today. The champions have a magical mirror in the waiting room, so the last one to go in will know what to expect. Now, a player will be entering the arena every minute, let's welcome champion Valerie Aguillon."

The first champion entered the arena. The brunette girl that didn't do so well in the competition, no surprise she had the lowest score.

That part of the arena she was assigned to was foggy and, from personal experience, Amelia knew the arena turned rain forest was so humid one could almost breathe the water of the dense mist. Through the mirrors, it was easy to see the girl beginning to panic. No one would blame her. The golems enchanted as animals would soon notice her.

The girl walked slowly. Smart move, there were some nasty surprises.

A minute later, the next champion entered. Viktor Krum. Amelia almost snorted. He did well, but his stunt of talking to the genie until the proctors had to drag him out did deduct many points. He was also assigned to the rainforest area.

Another minute went by and the flirty Diggory boy entered. If he was more careful during the second task, he would be in third place. It was kind of rewarding to see that kid face planting into the sand of the desert area.

Before the third champion could enter, the horn that signalled the elimination of a participant resounded. That was fast.

Amelia frowned at the mirror as she examined the scene. That brunette girl was being dragged by a water tentacula into the lake that was covered in plants and moss, effectively extinguishing the hitodama she was meant to carry. The proctor sliced the plant and dragged the kid out.

Another champion entered. Amelia smiled a little at the Bobkov kid, for looking so plain and unassuming, he did extremely well in the competition. The kid was not particularly impressive, but he had good judgement and an enviable ability to remain clear headed. A good leader, Amelia thought to herself.

The kid immediately conjured a protective bubble around the hitodama, used some charm on his shoes, and put on the hood of his jacket. With these preparations, the kid began walking easily through the sand.

The next kid entered.

Fleur Delacour was quite the shocker. Surprisingly strong and astounding magical capability. Unfortunately, the girl drew the short end of the stick. The rainforest area was surrounded by water, considering her heritage, she would have a hard time.

The girl used a Bubble-Head charm, unexpected yet effective, and began chanting spells without moving from her position.

And, finally, the last champion entered. Harry Potter, the surprise of the Tournament.

No one expected him to be able to compete toe to toe with the other champions, but lo and behold, here he was, leading the tournament with the highest score.

The first task was considered a fluke. Yes, Sirius' godson showed a developed control over magic and amazing physical fitness, but that was it. The second task was considered good luck. He was the third champion to finish the second task after obtaining more tokens than necessary and getting a promising invitation in the future, or at least that is what Amelia was told by one of the proctors. However, Harry ended up rescuing a fellow champion and triggered a rift between the tribe of sirens that was hired. He definitely ended with a bang.

It would be far more amusing had the boy not managed to get so wounded. Then, perhaps, Amelia would have cared about Dumbledore's death. Either way, she was so worried about her almost nephew she barely slept that night. She didn't even want to remember Sirius, he was a mess afterwards.

During the third task is where Harry proved luck had little to do with his success.

Amelia frowned once she caught a glimpse of Harry's expression. Unlike the polite interest and evident boredom he showed in the previous tasks, the child looked focused, eerily so. Only a second is what it took for him to take off running.

Krum left a path of blatant destruction on his way, which Bobkov wisely avoided yet Harry decided to follow, leaving an even bigger mess behind. Sand scorpions, giant fire centipedes, rock snakes, all of them destroyed with a brutal efficacy. All of the bodies turning into stone left a testament of Harry's power.

Something was wrong, Amelia could feel it. That kid was not the kind of person who would recklessly throw himself into danger. There were some scratches on his face from the stone animals exploding and - knowing how vain that kid was - it was obvious something was going on.

She looked at Sirius, who was frowning at the mirror and knew her hunch was right. Perhaps he had a fight or something similar. Maybe the kids made a bet... Hopefully.

Her sharp eyes immediately caught movement in the foggy part of the arena. It moved again and Amelia focused on the mirror. Only after staring at the mirror with squinted eyes for a moment too long is that she recognized the creature, a manticore. To be precise, a manticore shaped golem. None of the poison and all of the fun, that is what Moody said. In her humble opinion, it looked just as hideous.

The creature was getting ready to hunt Miss Delacour, who was still rooted to her original position. When it moved to attack, it was immediately blasted.

Amelia focused her gaze on the scene. Fleur Delacour had yet to move but a second stalking manticore was blasted. Someone was protecting her.

The pride of manticores that was getting ready to hunt the girl ended up being hunted. Finally, the Krum kid jumped down from a tree... Amelia couldn't detect him earlier, that was some rather advanced spell, but she had no idea on who cast it because, rather than attacking the girl, Krum placed a hand on her shoulder and she nodded. Both began running in the same direction.

Teamwork. Effective, but not all the judges liked it so it would cost them points.

From there on, the competition turned intense.

Harry took over Diggory, but the latter did nothing to get back his head start... It almost looked as if he was covering up Harry's back. Bobkov took another path, cleverly avoiding all the sandpits.

On the other side of the arena, Krum and Delacour swiftly advanced through the forest. Amelia was pleasantly surprised. The rainforest area had low visibility and an illusion for every tree... So that is what she was doing, Amelia realised while looking at the mirror.

The girl was locating all the illusions and traps while trusting Krum to cover her back. Did they plan this beforehand? Unlikely, the arenas were chosen at random. Amelia had many questions, but the most pressing of them all was how could they find each other without any of the judges noticing.

With a sigh, the woman decided to focus. Only to frown again when she saw Harry destroying yet another golem. He was really close to the waterfall.

"This waterfall has certain properties," Xenophilius announced to the audience, "it cannot be climbed through regular means. There is a magic repelling barrier around it, so the champions must find creative ways of surpassing this obstacle."

Xenophilius was definitely a terrible choice for a commentator, Amelia decided. But it was the best they had for the moment, at least this was the last task. Afterwards, things would be rather messy so she decided to enjoy the relative calm while it lasted.

The rather loud cheers of the crowd forced Amelia to pay attention to the mirror once again... Well, that was rather anticlimactic. Harry was climbing the waterfall the same way he did on the first task, through raw magic and brute force. Krum, Delacour, and Diggory were at the bottom of the waterfall, fending off the creatures that gathered at the bottom.

Then, she remembered there was another champion. Where was the Bobkov kid? She didn't remember the horn resounding again. Amelia focused on the mirror and looked for the kid.

"Found you," Amelia muttered.

Well, well, well, look at that. Colour her impressed.

Iwan Bobkov was precariously levitating on a rock as he used a lumos to see how close he was to the barrier. That was a clever solution and he was almost at the top. It was clear who was going to win.

Bobkov was getting ready to jump towards the lantern when Harry saw him. Amelia never expected to see that kind of expression on that kid's face when facing imminent defeat. The child shouldn't look afraid.

However, she highly doubted throwing a fist-sized stone was a regular response.

The rock grazed the hitodama and it swiftly disappeared while hitting Bobkov on the shoulder. The boy's body was pushed from his improvised platform and he fell down the floor, his arm at an unnatural angle. Hopefully, the only thing he broke was an arm.

The fireworks signalling the champion started while Amelia was focused on the pale kid that was clutching his shoulder.

This is it, Amelia thought. Harry Potter may be Sirius' godson, but it wouldn't protect him from the tongue-lashing he would receive from that dangerous stunt he pulled. Endangering another player without a single care just for a trophy!

"Something is wrong," Sirius whispered in her ear, Amelia scoffed.

There were many things wrong and the main one was his godson's attitude. But before she could voice her opinion, she caught a glimpse of Sirius' expression. That worried frown and the almost palpable anxiety emanating from him. She hadn't seen that expression ever since he got into therapy.

Amelia looked at the mirror again, Harry and the cheering crowd, it was the only thing it showed. However, the kid wasn't cheering or even smiling. His jaw was set as he stared at the ground. He wasn't gloating in his victory, but looked rather grim about it.

"Let's discuss the results," Madam Marchbanks said, interrupting Amelia's train of thought.

"Of course, Madam."

Amelia took a last look at the mirror before turning towards her fellow judges. _

It was strange, Harry decided. He felt like an intruder in his body, it felt alien.

He impassively waited for the Minister to finish her speech. The only thing he needed was the trophy Madam Marchbanks was holding.

There was still no sign of Draco.

He felt warmth encasing his hand, an effort to comfort him. He appreciated the gesture, no matter how useless it was.

Fireworks exploded and people yelled. A hand gently pushed him and Harry looked at the side. "They are calling you to the podium," Viktor whispered.

Harry exhaled a shaky breath and walked towards the only spot empty on the podium. Iwan was on his right, wearing a sling on his right arm and a nasty bruise on his face. He would apologise later, when they came back.

If he came back.

He felt a pull on his pinkie and sighed, knowing Fleur finished weaving the magical thread that connected the four of them.

Should he be doing this? He wasn't able to protect Draco, so what if he couldn't protect the others. What if he hurt them? Should he just sever the thread before receiving the trophy? But what if he couldn't rescue Draco alone?

Harry just wanted to throw up.

Before he could make a decision, a cold hand grabbed his wrist and the handle of the trophy was forced on his hand. He only had a second to look at Madam Marchbanks' smile - showing all her teeth, crazed eyes - to know that wasn't Madam Marchbanks.

Something squeezed his insides and he roughly landed on the dirt floor.

"Harry!"

Someone helped him stand up as his ears rang, before he could say anything, Harry noticed they were surrounded by masked figures. The two times he confronted them were easier than today. Unlike before, the Death Eaters had the upper hand.

"Looks like Barty managed to fuck up, I just needed Potter," a raspy voice spat. A thin woman with deep dark circles around her eyes walked towards them. "I guess it will do. Your wands please."

Harry's shoulders tensed when he recognised the woman from Sirius' family album, but mainly from the wanted posters of the escapees from the Azkaban breakout. "I almost didn't recognise you, aunt Bellatrix, your years in Azkaban definitely took a toll on you," Harry said instead of handing his wand.

"As insolent as your mudblood mother," Bellatrix sighed, but didn't really look displeased. "However I don't have time for this. Draco is my nephew, but the end justifies the means. Wand, now."

Harry didn't speak, he simply took out his wand and deposited it on the woman's outstretched hand. A shrill scream left the woman's lips as the wand burnt through her skin. He quickly retrieved it and cast a silent bombarda on the closest Death Eater.

The odour of burnt flesh made bile rise in his throat.

"Run!" Cedric yelled as he broke the wands Viktor summoned while Fleur shocked the crowd with some curse.

The four of them ran towards the house, the only building in the empty terrain. From the corner of his eye, Harry noticed there were two people laying nearby, he thanked the darkness of the place. He couldn't afford to help or pity them, so he just clenched his jaw and looked forward. He didn't even have the guts to look at his friends.

When they passed those two, Harry shuddered with the disgusting magic covering him but clenched his jaw and kept moving. He blasted open the door, only to be received by even more Death Eaters.

The malformed aberration spawn of a snake and human was sitting on a throne-like chair, looking at the door. "I see you are finally here," an unfortunately familiar hiss-like voice said as its misshapen face contorted into an expression Harry couldn't read. "Oh, look at that. Our honoured guest is finally here... along with some uninvited ones. I wonder what happened to Bella."

A masked figure kneeled on the floor, "I will take care of it."

The miscreation waved its hand. "Mmm, don't bother. I don't mind the extra eyes, but do go and look for Bella. Now, Harry Potter, you may be wondering why I brought you here." Voldemort said, strangely, he looked even more hideous than the last time Harry saw him. "And I must say, it has little to do with you, but I need something from you to confront an enemy of mine, so I propose a fair trade. Let's duel, if you win, I'll let your friend go."

"Is that so?"

Instead of answering, Voldemort snapped his fingers and a large man dragged a body and threw it in Harry's direction. Forgetting everything, Harry ran towards the person and checked his breathing.

Draco was alive. His lips were bitten raw and his body was randomly convulsing, but he was alive.

"Viktor," Harry barely whispered, but Viktor was already at his side, ready to replace him. Fleur and Cedric did their best to protect them while Harry walked towards Voldemort.

Just in time, Bellatrix barged in, her right hand replaced by a shiny material. Harry really wanted to curse, apparently, his wand didn't manage to cripple that psycho.

After taking a deep breath, Harry focused, ignoring the ruckus Bellatrix was making. Now that he confirmed Draco was alive, he would find a way to protect them. He was finally able to think clearly. "Will you give me your word, as a wizard, not to harm them or allow your followers to harm them?"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "I promise so, Harry Potter," the man, if one could call him so, agreed. Harry didn't miss how lacking the promise was, but he was not in position to demand anything more.

A hearty chuckle escaped the man as he licked his lips. "Let us begin then. Bella, go to your seat and stay quiet."

As the Death Eaters stepped back, Harry was trying to find a way out. The only advantage they had was their ability to silently communicate.

He exhaled as he focused his magic.

The wards they were under were undeniably strong. Sacrificial wards, magic Harry read about in the Black library. He had an idea of how to break them, he just hated the idea of leaving the burden to someone else.

Fleur, outside. End people, end wards.

For a second, Harry wondered if starting this was truly worth it. If today was the day everything was over. He really wished he spent more time with Elizabeth and aunt Eleadora.

Maybe Hogwarts wasn't worth it. Harry realised, as he stepped back and assumed a duelling position.

Hogwarts made him weak. Before, his only weakness was Elizabeth. His weakness and only family. He let too many people in, he shouldn't have, but couldn't find any wish to push them away. What Harry wished was never getting involved with the adults.

An epiphany, maybe just sudden clarity of being corralled in ways he wasn't before he could use his magic. He bit more than he could chew because he was ambitious. His powerlust and inability to recognise his mistakes landed him here. The worst part - it wasn't hurting him, but the ones he loved

When he got out, he was having a serious talk with Lizzie about her coming to Hogwarts or him leaving Hogwarts, he wasn't going to waste more time.

Harry bowed to Voldemort and avoided a bright green curse.

If he got out, he mentally corrected himself.

Bombarda, diffindo, blood-boiling curse. Bone-breaker, spinemelting, shield. Harry sent combination after combination of curses, doing his best to draw all the attention to himself and give Fleur time to weave an illusion and Viktor to heal Draco.

Stadium entrance.

A curse went past him, Harry trusted Cedric to raise a shield to protect the others.

A spell hit him on the shoulder. Sharp pain forced the air out of his lungs, but he had no time to recover. Whatever Voldemort did to gain a new body was definitely effective as everything that was cut regrew and his body seemed to be immune to curses, except for a few he avoided and Harry started to use more frequently.

Harry heard a groan, more like a whimper, and bit his tongue to avoid losing his temper. Whatever they did to Draco, Viktor was having a hard time healing even with all the potions he was carrying.

Crucio.

The only relatively positive thing about the situation was him finally being able to summon enough hatred to use that curse. It warmed Harry's chest to watch as Voldemort's eyes bulged and a silent scream left the monster's lips, he felt the corners of his mouth lifting.

He increased the intensity of the spell and finally allowed himself to look around. The Death Eaters were frozen, no one dared to react. Bellatrix was sitting beside the throne-like chair, strangely, the woman was doing nothing to protect her lord, unlike what Harry was expecting.

Actually, the woman's reaction was strange, as everyone knew the woman was insanely devoted to Voldemort. Noticing his stare, Bellatrix focused her eyes on him - the same shade of grey as Sirius, he noted - and smiled at him, dimples and bunny teeth showing.

A cold chill bolted from the base of his skull to his lower back.

Bellatrix went back to ignoring him, focused on her lord again. Harry decided to end everything before the Death Eaters decided to intervene. While he trusted himself, he didn't think 4 against more than twenty persons were good odds.

Voldemort's wand raced to Harry's free hand, the man in question finally collapsed on the ground. Harry willed the wand to destroy and he could hear its phantom scream as his magic tore it apart, chips of wood digging on his hand, neck, and cheek. Maybe he shouldn't have done that so close to his face - if he got a scar out of this, he was going to be very angry.

A little more.

A chiming giggle surprised Harry enough to let go of the emotion that was holding the curse. Bellatrix left her chair, the person who tried to stop her collapsed when a silent curse hit their chest, no one else tried to disturb her.

"I had my doubts, you know?" Bellatrix started saying, "but I refused to believe my Lord was gone, defeated by nothing but a baby, the spawn of a mudblood no less!" the woman let out a cackle, as an unnaturally wide smile stretched her thin lips. "Sadly, my Lord is indeed gone and a filthy half-blood tried to impersonate him. To think that I would have served that foul being if not for Barty seeing the truth. Rabastan, bring the portkeys!"

Ceiling. Floor.

Harry wasn't sure what was happening, but he refused to lower his wand.

The abomination gasping on the floor managed to stand on his knees. "Bellatrix! How dare -"

A simple Avada Kedavra left the woman's wand and Voldemort fell to the floor. There were no lights or grand explosion, no wraith leaving the body, simply another corpse, just like the Death Eater killed by Bellatrix Lestrange a few moments before.

"You can leave now, Harry Potter," the woman announced, "that is the grace I'm willing to give you for helping me uncover that fraud."

"Can we actually leave?" Harry asked, not recognising his own voice.

Bellatrix giggled, "of course, I don't particularly care about you. None of you. I have things to do so leave."

"Bellatrix! What do you think you are doing?! Why-" whatever the Death Eater was saying was interrupted by Bellatrix using a silent curse to dispose of the person.

The woman huffed, "anyone else? Good. We have things to do right now, and you leave before I lose my patience."

Little more time.

Harry glared at the woman, who simply smiled at him. Both knew he couldn't leave as long as the sacrificial wards were up and Bellatrix was counting on that to attack them. The woman Sirius always described as a psycho obviously had everything planned while Harry was on the blind.

This woman was more dangerous than Voldemort.

A shrill scream left one of the masked figures, it collapsed on the floor. Everyone turned towards the person on the doorway. Madam Marchbanks was there. Pale, sunken cheeks, cracked lips, ragged dress that was too large on her.

Harry finally understood everything. Or at least a big part of what happened.

"And how did you get out of your room?" Bellatrix asked, tilting her head.

Madam Marchbanks left out a miserable sound, but her lips formed a smile. "Didn't like the accommodations and the hospitality left much to be desired."

It was the perfect distraction, as everyone was looking at her. Harry really pitied the woman, especially when she helped them so much, but he refused to endanger himself to help her. He did hope Madam Marchbanks was able to feel the wards falling and have enough magic to escape the place.

"I see Voldemort is dead," Madam Marchbanks muttered and most of the Death Eaters flinched, "see you in hell, motherfucker."

Bellatrix let out one of her disgustingly childish giggles, "you are one of my best guests, Marchbanks, a shame I no longer need you."

Harry felt a prod, a thin tendril of magic that was too frail to latch onto him unless he accepted. Bellatrix Lestrange raised her wand.

"We will be leaving then," he announced and Bellatrix turned around, forgetting about the old woman.

Three.

Harry nodded and signalled everyone to leave as he stepped back without turning his back.

Two.

Viktor lifted Draco. Bellatrix frowned when Fleur remained still.

One!

Bombarda!

Harry and Cedric used the spell on the ceiling and floor and Fleur's illusion disappeared. It felt like taking a breath after holding it for far too long when the barrier shattered.

The four of them apparated to the stadium's entrance and Harry hissed when he felt his shoulder move. Whatever curse Voldemort used was spreading from Harry's shoulder despite the basilisk skin armour.

The aurors at the entrance yelped with their sudden appearance, but they didn't attack, Harry knew Moody would have their sorry behinds if he learnt about this.

"We need healers!" Fleur demanded, shoving one of the Aurors aside and signalling them to follow her. As Harry did his best not to wince with every breath, he noticed Fleur sported large blisters on her hands. Most likely the recoil of forcibly ending the sacrificial wards.

"I will have to ask you to help me, Mr Potter," Madame Marchbanks muttered, her hoarse voice making it hard to understand her words, then Harry saw the woman's arm. "That bitch threw a rotting curse at me, I'm going to cut my arm so please use the skin searing curse to burn the wound and then burn the arm."

The old woman's forearm was a sick shade of dark green that already reached her wrist and elbow.

"I'll do my best. You go to the infirmary," Harry told his friends, begging them with his eyes to focus on Draco.

Fleur nodded and dragged Viktor with her, Cedric stayed behind.

"Wait. What is happening here?!" one of the aurors demanded.

Harry allowed Cedric to deal with them and focused on Madam Marchbanks, who wheezed when a diffindo severed her arm from the shoulder. He quickly cast the skin searing curse on the flesh, the woman only hissed at the pain. Harry's respect for madam Marchbanks reached new levels. Then he turned to burn the severed limb and almost gagged at the stench it was emitting.

The cursed blood was rotting the soil it touched so instead of the planned incendio, Harry went with fiendfyre, watching as it consumed the flesh and the earth beneath it, making sure to extinguish it completely after it was done.

He conjured a patronus. "Sirius, we are in the infirmary. Don't trust Marchbanks."

"Good call, Mr Potter," Madam Marchbanks muttered, but he didn't know if she meant the message or the fiendfyre. "Make sure to get that shoulder checked and alert the aurors. I don't know what they're planning, but I know Bellatrix is dangerous. I'll go after you, hurry up."

Harry licked his lips and nodded before leaving the pale woman who looked barely able to stand, much less walk. He saw aurors and general personnel running around like headless chickens, but didn't stop when a few tried to talk with him, simply brushing them off. His shoulder throbbing with every step despite his magic numbing most of the pain.

"The aurors at the entrance went to speak with Moody in person. They said the supposed Madam Marchbanks collapsed after handing you the cup, so she's in the infirmary. Viktor said the only thing they found were two unconscious healers and Madam Pomfrey healing herself."

"What about Draco?" Harry asked, but it was barely understandable.

Thinking about it, his throat was hurting and his mouth was so dry his tongue was sticking to his teeth.

Cedric's head snapped at him, so Harry ignored his friend's worried gaze. "He's being treated. Viktor said Madam Pomfrey was in a bad mood and they were afraid to bother her."

Harry had to smile at that, feeling how his dry lips cracked, remembering how fierce the woman was. Certainly passionate about her career.

Finally, they made it to the infirmary.

Draco was laying on a bed, no longer bruised face or bloody lips. Sleeping, rather than unconscious. Fleur was being scolded by Madam Pomfrey as her hands were being bandaged. Viktor looked refreshed and Cedric, while looking as beaten as he felt, was also alive and well. Along with his sigh of relief, whatever adrenaline kept him going disappeared and he tumbled. Fortunately Cedric was quick enough to catch him.

"-won't fully heal because they were caused by dark magic-" Pomfey looked at them and her frown disappeared. "What the hell are you doing?! Take him to the bed!"

Harry actually felt it, he abused his magic. The last time something like this happened was when he was a child and used his magic to arrange accidents to the other boys in the orphanage so they stopped bothering him.

"Don't fall asleep, Mr Potter, and do tell me what in the world you ever did to exhaust your magic."

He snorted, only Madam Pomfrey would treat a patient with so much tenderness and spite. "was kidnaped, duelled an abomination, shared my magic so the wards didn't drain us, and apparated back."

Madam Pomfrey brusquely undid his under armour, hopefully, she didn't recognise what it was made of. "You did an amazing job, Mr Potter. Now bite this, it will hurt."

Whatever tiredness he had, immediately disappeared when he felt his shoulder burning. It was like that time he lived in the first orphanage and a caretaker put his hands in boiling water because one of his roommates swore Harry stole his toy. Only that time his magic immediately healed him while somehow covering the woman with the boiling water. This time his magic was too weak to heal him or even numb the pain. Then it stopped.

"Drink this," Harry heard someone saying and he gratefully gulped down the water, choking a few times.

It took a while for his ears to stop ringing and his eyes to focus again.

Madam Pomfrey was healing her hands. Harry did his best not to react, the woman was covered in blood.

"Did I do that?"

The woman snorted, "of course not, this," she said while showing her torn, blood stain dress, "was a souvenir of whoever was impersonating Madam Marchbanks. It was certainly annoying to put my intestines back while constantly injecting the blood replenishing potion… It will be a pain to clean."

Harry looked around and winced, the floor was indeed covered with drying blood, multiple empty vials on the floor. He also noted the two unconscious healers on the beds, looking totally pristine in comparison with Madam Pomfrey, caked in blood, dishevelled, torn dress, and already healed five patients. Wimps.

Viktor forced him to drink another glass of water while Fleur glared at him to submission.

"Though I admit, I was surprised your magic managed to lash out. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm pleasantly surprised. You have a bright future, Mr Potter. Now, Mr Diggory," the woman said while signalling an empty bed.

Cedric didn't complain a bit and took the potions Madam Pomfrey handed without hesitation.

"Ma'am, will you be accepting apprentices?" Viktor asked, not bothering to use his heavily accented English.

Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows in response. "Not anytime soon, Mr Krum." She sighed as she walked towards the potions cabinet. "I was an acolyte, you see. My master was one as well and she directly served Grindelwald. I worked in Numregard for a couple of years. While I believe what I learnt there is invaluable, I will only teach it during duress."

Harry wasn't sure how to react. It certainly explained why Madam Pomfrey was such a capable healer, especially under pressure. How she was able to heal Fleur and him. Few healers were able to undo dark curses. He did wonder how Dumbledore allowed her to work at school, maybe the man wasn't as biased as he appeared.

The door was thrown open with enough force to make the walls shake. Harry pointed his wand towards the entrance.

Sirius tackled him.

"You're alright?" was the only thing the man asked while looking at Harry.

"I am."

Sirius collapsed on the ground, still holding him.

The vase on the table started shaking. Actually, everything was shaking, vibrating. The wards slowly crumbling around them.

Harry knew he had to recover, whatever Bellatrix planned was just starting.

NeoMare here, how have all you been?

I just remembered this story because I am moving and found my book of ideas. It was an odyssey to access this account, but here I am.

This story started to improve my English and to see just how many hated tropes could I put in a single story. Somewhere along that, it turned serious and suddenly I had a huge thing planned.

This chapter was written years ago, just in April when Covid was getting worse. As it was my last year of residence, I worked overtime all 2020 and most of 2021, they were very hard years for me. I lost patients and family, I got engaged, we moved, we lost a pet. You know, life went on.

This story helped me survive my residency. Right Side of Hell will always hold a dear place in my heart and be a fond memory and, as everything good, it has to end. This is my goodbye to all of you and this stage of my life. I still have all my ideas, but lack the time and drive to dedicate to this story so at least I wanted to have closure.

For anyone interested, I will write the highlights below:

Bellatrix was supposed to be the final villain. The mastermind behind everything and Barty her right hand. After the wards fell, Bellatrix attacked the stadium. Luna and Flora were supposed to die, to be the first ones.

This creates huge conflict. Blaise leaves Hogwarts for Italy and Draco follows because he doesn't want to leave his friend alone. Fred goes through a rough time and talks to George only.

Harry also goes through a hard time, blames himself for Luna and Flora's death. Elizabeth goes with him to Hogwarts thanks to the letter that Luna left. One for the Court, one for her dad, and one for Elizabeth (she tells no one about her letter).

The Hogwarts express is attacked. I forgot the name of the Slytherin Head girl who was obsessed with Harry, but she dies along with Terrence.

From there on the story turns darker.

Bellatrix becomes worse than Grindewald, starting another world war. She assassinates the emperor and Hwasa ascends to the throne.

Hogwarts is attacked the last day of school. Sacrificial wards around Hogwarts. Remember the safe passages? They evacuate all children and the Hogwarts Battle happens years earlier.

Bellatrix uses this to take control of the Ministry. From there on Britain is at war.

I planned to make this huge and rather angsty. The court reunites out of sheer desperation, Blaise never truly forgives Harry for Luna's death and that friendship is lost, but Blaise loves the others so he returned for them.

The Hogwarts mystery leads them to the resurrection stone. Harry is tempted by it so many times Elizabeth takes matters into her own hands and returns the stone to the hat. The hat eats it and drops a dagger. The kind of dagger that seals souls that refuse to pass on, the sorting hat asks Harry to carry the dagger with him. Bellatrix makes sure to sacrifice enough people to make herself almost immortal, untouchable by magic.

The final battle was supposed to be Harry VS Bellatrix, right after kills Elizabeth. Harry loses control of his magic and defeats Bellatrix by stabbing her with the dagger after her killing curse rebounds on Harry and hits Barty.

When he wakes up, only aunt Eleadora is there. Sirius and Madam Bones died protecting muggles. Less than half of the court remains. Elizabeth sacrificed herself for Harry.

He is supposed to be this aloof, overpowered child with little regard for others. This is his breaking point.

Harry leaves Britain with aunt Eleadora, starting a new life in the states. Daphne becomes the new queen of Hogwarts, she guides the court and uses the money Harry left behind to rebuild the school and the alley.

Harry signed in the school Lizzy went to and Hermione gave him her blessings to take Crookshanks. He meets Dudley over there. Dudley, Elizabeth's muggle friend. And that is how Harry finds closure.

The epilogue was meant to be narrated from Professor Hermione Granger's perspective when a new student asks her about the Hero of the Great War, Harry Potter.

She says he lives abroad now, following his family tradition as a potioneer. Harry Potter married a muggle and they focus on their charity work. Hermione's last thought:

The great Harry Potter turned into a normal man with a loving family. After so many feats and loss when he was young, he deserve to live in peace.

May mother magic keep blessing him, because Hermione knew, that is the only thing her dear friend ever craved.

In the end, adult Harry was not great. He was remembered as a hero and kept in contact with his friends, but he didn't appear in public. He lived a quiet life, a peaceful one.

George marries Hwasa. Yes, you heard me. Fred marries Fleur because Bill is too fucking old for her, and they live with Xenophilius Lovegood. The man lost a daughter, but Luna made sure he was loved even after her death. Blaise marries Hermione. I said what I said and had an amazing thing planned for them during the war.

Everyone moves on and grows up. That is how life goes.

This story almost wrote itself at the time. I genuinely love it and it is a shame life doesn't allow me enough free time to finish it.

By the way, I had another story Fortunate Consequences. I deleted it as Anonymous_lilpotat asked me if she could use the idea and I gifted her the story as I have no plans to continue witing.

All that said, thank you for all these years.

NeoMare Out!