Harry winced as the needle pulled on his skin.
"Hold still." Sirius grumbled.
"I'm trying." Harry said through gritted teeth. "It's been a while since I've had stitches."
"We'll save that story for another day." Sirius huffed. "Care to tell me why you were fighting Greyback on your own? Or at all!"
"I found out where he was, and I went to go kill him." Harry replied easily.
"That's it?" Remus asked, staring at him flatly.
"That's it." Harry nodded, then winced.
"I told you to stay still." Sirius ordered. "Please, Harry, please tell me why you decided to go attack him on your own? Then, you pop up here out of the blue! I didn't even know you could apparate."
"I've been keeping it a secret." Harry said.
"That makes sense." Sirius nodded. "Hell, I'm proud that you've learned it on your own. That sounds like something your dad and us would do. I can even understand going after someone dangerous. You're not the type to just let evil do its thing. Greyback. Alone!"
"I didn't have the time to get help." Harry lied like a liar. "If I didn't go after him myself, right then, my chance would have vanished. I'm fine. It's not a full moon. He didn't bite me."
Sirius gave him an annoyed look as he snipped the end of the suture.
"You're not fine." Remus cut in. "Those were deep. You've lost a lot of blood."
"And I took potions to get replace it." Harry countered. "I know, wounds from a werewolf can't be healed with magic. It will take a while, but I will be fine."
He gritted his teeth as he got his shirt on. Sirius and Remus did not look convinced.
"I never thought I'd be happy they cancelled quidditch." Harry muttered. "That reminds me. I've been talking up the Summer Quidditch thing all year. Any news?"
"I've got a stadium arranged, a couple of sponsors lined up, and a VIP box for scouts." Sirius answered. "Don't try to distract me. We're not done talking about this."
"Are you sure he's dead?" Remus asked in a hushed voice.
"I cut his head off." Harry answered. "Not even a werewolf can survive that."
"Damn." Sirius chuckled. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
"He's dead somewhere in a forest." Harry continued. "It will probably take a while to find him. I couldn't claim the bounty without raising way too many questions. I'm supposed to be at the Yule Ball tonight."
"Did you end up taking Hermione?" Remus asked.
Harry's face hardened. He shook his head.
"What's the story there?" Sirius asked.
"You know how Molly was dosing her family and me with potions?" Harry asked.
The two men nodded.
"Hermione was helping her dose me." He tried to keep his voice even. "Molly told her it was Dumbledore's order, and she didn't even question it. We're not on speaking terms anymore."
"Damn, pup." Sirius grimaced. "How are the rest of the Weasley brood taking it?"
"Ron is doing well." Harry answered. "The twins too. They found out the hard way that Ginny and Bill aren't Arthur's kids. Ron told me the entire family went for a potion cleanse."
"Oh." Sirius dropped back into his chair. "Damn."
Harry nodded.
"The twins had a plan to get a shop started." Harry continued. "I hope this doesn't throw off their goal. They are geniuses. Once I win this Tournament I'm going to invest in their store."
"You're going to win it now?" Remus asked with a weak smile.
"Without a doubt." Harry winked at the werewolf. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to get back to the dorm and get some sleep."
"No more going off alone." Sirius said. "I know I can't stop you, but take me or Remus with you. Hell, take both of us."
Harry gave them a mock salute and disappeared. Sirius got out a bottle of strong liquor. He poured a glass for each. Being of Muggle origin, it didn't hit as hard, but it got the job done. Remus was halfway through his second glass when he paused.
"Wait." He said slowly. "You can't apparate into Hogwarts."
"It's Harry." Sirius waved off the thought. "Don't question it."
~ § ~ Ϟ ~ § ~
The Tournament saved Harry from having to explain his sudden lack of energy. He had to take it easy to make sure his stitches didn't tear. To prevent that, he setup in the library and began to study. The selection was rather impressive. He somehow found his way to the magical creatures' section of the stacks. There he found books on rare and forgotten things that Hagrid would have loved to learn about.
Harry checked out quite a few of them to show his friend later. One of the books was all about humanoids. It covered gnomes, pixies, faeries, and distant cousin of house elves called Oompa Loompa. The weirdest one so far was a Scandinavian off-shoot of gnome that had blue skin and lived in mushroom groves.
He even found a short excerpt on Nargels. Luna was incredibly pleased with the news, until she read the entry that listed them as creatures of myth. After that, she decided that she would need to start her own bestiary to get things right.
All too soon the second task approached. Ron disappeared the same as last time. It made him wonder who Krum was going to rescue. Hopefully, things would go smoother this time. He actually had a plan.
~ § ~ Ϟ ~ § ~
The morning was just as cold as he remembered it. This time Cedric was beside him rather than Fleur. Harry had dressed warmer, having his new on-call tailor make an enchanted version of a wet suit. It had some runes stitched on it for temperature regulation, ease of removal, and a few to enhance his movement underwater. It also did wonders to hide his new scars. The wound Greyback had given him took a long time to heal. It would have been easy to see that they were new. The stitching Sirius did was a little wonky too.
Fleur had been avoiding him since the Yule Ball. She would purposely sit on the other side of the table when the champions ate together and she didn't look at him when they spoke. He tried not to let it bother him. The situation was his own making. He couldn't stop the feeling that came from being around her. The subtle yearning for closeness. A familiarity that whispered something more.
"Champions, are you ready?" Bagman yelled.
They nodded.
"Go!" The word was accentuated by an explosion from his wand.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, ladies." Harry held out a hand before they could jump in.
They stared at him; their focus shattered. Harry flicked his wand at the edge of the platform. A plank of wood launched up high above their heads. When it came crashing back down in the water it had taken form of a gondola.
"If you would care to join me?" Harry offered.
Cedric started to laugh, which made Krum join in a moment later. Fleur shook her head while trying to hide a smile. Harry took a step closer to the long boat and held out a hand to help each of his fellow champions get in. Once they were all set, he climbed aboard. Another piece of wood from the platform shifted into a long paddle.
"When the moon hits your eye. Like a big pizza pie." Harry sang loudly with a horrible Italian accent.
The three in the boat stared up at him in confusion as a smattering of laughter spread around the crowd.
"That's Amore." Victor added.
"Excellent!" Harry cackled. "Will one of you cast the Point Me spell please?"
"What is that?" Fleur asked.
"It's a locator spell." Harry replied, giving her an odd look.
"Non." She pointed out to the water. "That."
Harry followed her gesture to see something streaking toward the boat. It wasn't the giant squid, Cuddles was much too timid to approach them. As whatever it was got closer, it became clear it was a group rather than a single creature.
"Prepare for impact!" Harry yelled.
Harry tapped the collar of his wet suit. A fish-bowl helmet covered his head as the creatures collided with the boat. He hoped the other champions had enough time. The creatures crashed into the boat, breaking it in half. Harry caught a clear view of one of the things as it erupted from the water.
Grindylows.
That didn't make sense. Sure, they were vicious, but they kept to themselves. Come to think of it, they were rather aggressive last time as well. People had written it off as them reacting to Fleur's heritage. This was more than that. Maybe it was the previous time as well.
The enchanted suit couldn't keep out all of the cold from the water. It wasn't as bad, but the temperature change was still noticeable. That made him worry about his fellow champions even more. Jumping in from the dock was one thing, being tossed into the freezing water without a chance to prepare was a different barrel of fish.
Harry scanned the area, trying to find the others. Krum had transfigured himself into the same part-shark form as last time. Cedric and Fleur had managed to get their bubble head chairs in place as well. There were at least half a dozen creatures swarming around them.
The moment of distraction cost him. One of the grindylows raked their claws across his lower leg. It followed it up by latching its teeth on his ankle. Harry brandished his wand, quickly bisecting the creature and kicking it off. His blood drew they attention, making them forget about the other champions.
Harry pointed his wand at the approaching group. He sent a ball of condensed magic into them. It exploded as it got close to them, sending the creatures tumbling at high speeds in random directions. Later, they would find out that one of the grindylows was launched up out of the water before landing with a loud SLAP of a bellyflop.
With that encounter dealt with, they continued on to get their hostages. It seemed like everything had calmed down until they got to the Mer-People village. Last time, the underwater folk weren't happy about them being there, but ignored them for the most part. This time, they were outright hostile. Toward Fleur at least.
A couple of the warriors charged her once she was in sight. She caught a spear to the side before anyone knew what was going on. Harry reached her a moment later. The spear was barbed and couldn't be pulled out without causing even more damage. Even with the Bubble Head Charm it was clear she was screaming.
Harry caught the next spear that had been aimed at her neck. He sent it back at the warrior, taking off its leg. The first tried to charge at Harry to attack but was held back by a larger one. They exchanged rapid words before the big one turned its attention to Harry. It motioned to the village.
Fleur tried to swim on. Each motion caused the spear to open the wound a little more. Harry stopped her. He pointed up to the surface. Fleur looked at him desperately, pointing to the village. Harry shook his head. He pointed to himself, then to her and finally to the village. A mix of panic and pain flashed across her face. Harry drew an X over his heart. That seemed to mollify her.
She raised her wand and shot sparks above her. The space where she had been emptied, wrenching Harry forward as the lake moved to fill the void. It was not a comfortable sensation. Harry turned his focus to finding the hostages. The other two had already been rescued, leaving Gabrielle and Ron. Harry smiled at the sight of his best friend. Having him back meant more to him than he had expected.
Harry untied Ron and tossed him over his shoulder. The same bigger warrior from before tried to step in when he moved to Gabrielle. Harry glared at the warrior. He nodded at the spear, unimpressed. The warrior relented, backing away. Harry kept the warrior in sight out of the corner of his eye. He untied Gabrielle and cradled her close to his chest with one arm while the other held Ron in place over his shoulder.
The trip back was awkward. It took longer than he intended as well. This time around, neither hostage woke up, which was a nice change. He set Ron on the dock first before carefully climbing up while holding Gabrielle. Once again, he didn't make it back in time. This time, he didn't care about the score. It didn't matter when he entered the maze with Voldemort dead.
Fleur didn't kiss him this time. She was too busy getting her wound treated. Madam Pomphrey saw the claw marks and bite on his leg and had him in a bed in record time. His wet suit came off without a struggle thanks to the enchantments. She gave him a quick glare when she saw the uneven stitching on his side but didn't say anything.
"They are going to announce the scores." Ron sat nearby wrapped in a warm towel.
"I don't care." Harry chuckled. "I'm not taking a girl for a walk around the lake for the rest of the year."
Ron laughed at that.
"A walk around the lake?" Fleur asked. Her own bed was nearby.
"Traditional Hogwarts date." Harry explained. "We don't have many options while stuck on campus."
"Ah." Fleur nodded. "I thought you meant sex."
Ron cackled like mad as Harry blushed.