[A/N: Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year, everybody! I hope all of your year of 2020 will be happy and well! WOW, 181 favorites, and 225 followers~! I'm glad that so many of you like it! To those who just subscribed to my story or 'favorite' my story, thank you all at the bottom of my heart! I'm glad that so many of you are still following me even though things in the story are progressing slowly. I have taken direct quotes from the movie and books, so credits to JK Rowling. As usual, the foreign languages in this story are translated from Google Translate so, please let me know if something seems off. If any of you have a fanfiction request, hit me up on PM! As always, please, comment, subscribe, and favorite this story and stay tuned for the next chapter.]
[A/N: In light of what is happening in the world right now, I hope all of you stay safe :)
I=Italian M=Morse Code P=Parsel Tongue F=French R=Russian
Chapter 18
The stadium stands were completely silent as the spectators watched with their mouths hanging open. The female Hungarian Horntail jerked her head back as if the creature was surprised to see another dragon in the stadium with her, however, it didn't last that long. She let out another roar as she started side-stepping slowly, keeping her yellow eyes trained on Christopher as he started doing the same, making sure to keep space between them. "Elle est intelligente." (F) (She is a smart one.) Diana said softly to the gang. "Pouvez-vous voir Hermione? Je ne peux pas la voir." (F) (Can you guys see Hermione? I can't see her.) Daphne asked worriedly as she held on to Theo's hand while trying to peer down to the arena through the large hole in the concrete.
Before either of the gang could respond to the blonde female, another roar could be heard and the female Hungarian Horntail charged at Christopher, seemingly having enough of circling around and wanted to show who was stronger. Christopher got on his hind legs and pulled up his right arm just in time to block the female's head from colliding with his side. The spectators must have gotten over with their shock and gasped loudly from the rather bone-rattling thud the beasts made. Christopher let out a pained roar when the force caused him to stumble back and collided against the concrete wall with his back. The impact was enough to shake the stands and some of the spectators started screaming, thinking the structure could crumble at any moment.
Ginny saw something moving away from Christopher's feet and her eyes narrowed slightly to see what that was only to widen. "There's Hermione!" She said as she pointed, bringing the gang a piece of mind. With superb hearing, Christopher was able to hear the red-haired girl over the sound of the female dragon lunging her head forward with her jaws snapping and he mentally gave a sigh of relief as he quickly swiped his head side to side to avoid it. Now, he didn't have to hold back anymore since he wasn't protecting Hermione. He let out an annoyed roar as he used his strength to shove the female dragon away from him and his arm lashed out to slash at her belly.
The spectators made a collective cringe sound before they were covered by a bellowing roar of pain from the female as she stumbled back a little and used one paw to cover the bleeding wound while balancing on three legs. Dark red blood oozed from between her gnarly fingers as the female looked down at it before she glared back at Christopher with renewed anger and possible revenge. The female let out a furious roar before she pulled her hand from her wound and charged at Christopher at full speed, the ground shaking with each thundering stomp. Christopher let out a roar of his own before he started charging towards the female. Their enormous bodies slammed against each other, their paws pushing at each other to try to subdue the other.
The female Hungarian Horntail let out a frustrated roar as she was able to push Christopher back a little, enough to buy her time to whip her tail around to collide against his face. Christopher let out a roar when the impact caused him to fall backwards onto his side and the female pressed her paw down on his side. "Anton!" A high pitched scream cut through the thick air, catching both dragon's attention. Hermione! You idiot! Christopher cursed to himself as he felt the weight of the female's paw disappear from his side. The female dragon had her beady yellow eyes trained on Hermione as she slowly stepped towards the brunette like a tiger spotting its prey, her long tongue licking her maw while she watched Hermione slowly stepped back to the concrete wall, leaving her backside completely open.
Christopher shook his head to shake off the daze before his own yellow eyes trained on the retreating back of the female dragon. Now or never. He thought. Hermione cursed herself when she realized she had backed herself into the concrete wall. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest as she looked up at the approaching female dragon, its sharp teeth gleaming maddeningly in the partially covered sun. She squeezed her eyes shut, her body tensing as the female dragon leaped up to pounce on her. She heard the female dragon let out a pained roar and she opened her eyes to see Christopher had let go of the female dragon's tail from his jaws, specks of blood coating his teeth as his eyes flashed angrily.
The female dragon let out a more annoyed roar and she used her spiked tail to slam into him, however, Christopher predicted this and got on his hind legs to catch it just in time. Christopher let out a bellow as he used his beastly strength to throw the female dragon on to the ground, the creature let out a pained howl. The stadium filled with gasps as Christopher slammed down his foot on the female's chest and he let out a mighty roar over her weaker roar before he suddenly lashed out and sank his teeth into the female's neck, causing the stadium to gasp louder. The female dragon let out a high pitch roar as she writhed from between his jaws, her clawed fingers grasping at his face to retract his teeth from her neck.
The spectators could see Christopher's teeth sink deeper into her neck, causing the female more pain before he yanked his head back. The spectators gasped dramatically as the dragon's blood spurted into the air and onto the ground as he let the chunk of meat fall onto the ground. The female dragon let out a final high pitch scream before she collapsed onto the ground, her limbs shuddering before she went still. Christopher let a triumphant roar, causing the spectators to roar from amazement.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Mis Greengrass, what brings you here?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she bustled around the infirmary tent with a tray of various potions. The first task of the Triwizard Tournament had just ended and all the champions were getting treated before they would announce the winner of the first task. "I'm just going to visit one of the champions really quick," Hermione said discreetly, feeling worried about Christopher. "Alright, just make sure to keep your visit short. I still have many things to do to treat these students." The medi-witch said shortly as she went over to Diggory to treat the burns on his body.
Hermione nodded and departed to one of the makeshift hospital beds with a white sheet hanging around it for privacy. She stepped inside to see Christopher had been patched up and was sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet on the floor. His naked chest was wrapped up in layers of gauze, covering the gashes and bruises all over his body "How are you feeling?" Hermione asked as snapped the sheets closed. "I'm fine. Just a little sore." He said as he watched as Hermione walked over to him. "You had me worried, you know. When you went down after getting slapped by the dragon's tail." Hermione said in a soft voice, her eyes gazing at his.
Christopher raised an eyebrow at this before he reached out to grasp her wrist and pulled her against his chest so she was standing between his legs. Hermione felt her heart was hammering in her chest as their nose was practically touching, her hands pressed against his hard chest to make sure to not smack into him. "I should be saying that to you." He said with a whisper. "You had me worried when I saw you fall from the spectators stand." Hermione couldn't help but shiver a little as his warm breath cascaded gently along her lips and cheek. That was how close they were. The brunette licked her lips a little, noticing that his dark eyes were watching her every move before going back up to her eyes.
"Then, I guess we are even then." She said softly. The moment was still, before she saw him lean his head forward and pressed their lips together. Hermione felt fireworks erupt inside of her. Even though they had kissed a couple of times previously, his soft, tender lips always seemed to have that effect on her. That ability to take her breath away. She couldn't help but hum softly against his lips as they danced together fluidly with one hand leaving his chest to cup the back of his neck and carding her fingers through the soft hairs on the beck of his neck.
November 27th, Friday
"I don't see why I need to be here, Minister," Christopher said simply as he sat in front of the Wizengamot. Fudge sighed as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the podium and his fingers steepled together while he stared at the young man over his circular glasses. "I'll try to get this over with quickly, Mr. Ivanov. You are brought forth in front of the Wizengamot today because, on November twenty-fourth, you were seen slaying a dragon during the first task. Are you aware that slaying such creature on Irish ground is illegal?" Christopher raised an eyebrow as he grew irritated, glaring at the Minister. Ivanchenkov felt this and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"That may be true, Minister, but he is a guest to Hogwarts and he couldn't possibly know such laws Would you arrest every guest student who slays a dangerous creature, such as a dragon, each time?" She asked, determination in her eyes. Fudge looked sour, not because of her response, but because Dumbledore was adamant to include this fact. "Fair enough. However, there is another thing we must discuss. Your ability to apparate and your animagus form." Fudge then added. Christopher visibly sneered. How is it any of their business? He thought. "YA spravlyus' s etim, moy lord" (R)(I'll handle this, my lord.) Ivanchenkov whispered to him before addressing the Wizengamot. "What are you implying, Minister?" She asked, clasping her hands on her lap.
Fudge tutted as he gave her a scrutinizing look over his glasses. "The aurors have checked the Russian list of registered apparators. You are not on that list. Why is that? Isn't it illegal to be an unregistered apparatus in Russia?" Ivanchenkov raised an eyebrow this time before she smiled apologetically. "My apologies, ladies, and gentlemen. So many things have been going on, I completely forgot to submit this in for Christopher when he completed the test during school" She said as she pulled out a rolled piece of parchment from the inside pocket of her robe. An auror stepped out from the side to take the parchment from her hand and handed it to Fudge before going back to his original position.
Fudge gave Ivanchenkov another scrutinizing look as he unfurled the parchment before reading the application. He looked sour once again as he reached the end of the application. "Mr. Ivanov, there will be a fine you must pay for breaking the Russian law. Your ministry will be notified. You will be prohibited from apparating anywhere until said payment has been paid. Now, on to your animagus form. How in Merlin's name can a seventeen-year-old become an animagus? It brings into question as to what you are teaching your students." Ivanchenkov opened her mouth to speak but Christopher raised his hand, signaling her to stop.
"That may be true, but I am not most wizards. And just in case you are wondering, there is no animagus registry un Russia." The Wizengamot was silent, only to be broken when Fudge looked uncomfortable and cleared his throat as he tried to say something else only to be interrupted by Christopher. "Now, if you are done phishing around, I would like to get back to Hogwarts grounds to be with my schoolmates and my sister."
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
The sounds of warm water flowing from the faucets into an already filled tub with soapy water. Christopher let out a soft groan as he sat down into the water, feeling the warmth calm his muscles. In front of him, he sees a stained glass window of a mermaid magically moving to comb her hair on a rock. He leaned back against the edge of the tub, staring up at the ceiling silently for a few minutes before he looked back over his shoulder to the golden egg nestled in the middle of his clothes. He reached out to grab it, turning back around and dunked the egg under the soapy water. His fingers found the latch and he turned it. The egg bloomed open and instead of the ear-throbbing screech from before, there was a bubble that was shaped like an egg, a light blue glow came from within.
Here goes nothing. He thought as he took a deep breath before he plunged in. For a second, he couldn't hear anything.
Come see us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground
And while you're searching, ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour-long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospects black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back
Christopher broke through the surface and took in some air as he wiped the water from his face before slicking his wet hair back, his eyes closed. "Oh my, you are much quicker than that boy Cedric Diggory. It took him ages to figure it out. All the bubbles were practically gone."A nasally female voice could be heard and he opened his eyes to see a female ghost with circular glasses and pig-tails was floating above him. Based on the uniform she was wearing, she was a previous Hogwarts student. She let out a dramatic gasp at the sight of his face and she flew through the air to be right in front of him. "Oh, you are a handsome one. Even more than the boys here. Oh, if I wasn't dead, I would have loved to go out with you." She said boldly with an attempt at a seductive smile.
Christopher refrained from raising an eyebrow as he tilts his head back slightly as if he was going to kiss her. Moaning Myrtle blushed slightly as she closed her eyes, waiting for their lips to meet. "Go away. I already have a girlfriend." Christopher said bluntly as he then leaned back against the tub. Moaning Myrtle gasped dramatically and let out a wail as she shot through the air back down into the toilet she came out of.
December 10th, Thursday
"All of you settle down," McGonagall said in her usual brisk tone as all the head-of-houses stood with her at the spot where the podium usually was in the Great Hall. "Now, you all must be curious as to why I have pulled you all here. The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas Eve night, we and our guests gather at the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward. And i mean this literally, because, the Yule Ball, is first and foremost, a dance." Excited gasps and giggles could be heard from the girls and groans emitted from the guys filled the air.
"Silence," McGonagall said as she gave pointed looks all around. "The house of Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you in a course of a single evening besmirching that man by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons." No one spoke a word, not wanting to catch the strict professor's attention. "Now, to dance is to let the body breeze. Inside every girl, secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forward and take flight." The moment was interrupted when some students from the Gryffindors snickered from what Weasley had said about his female housemate. "A lordly lion prepared to prance," McGonagall said as she gave the red-head a pointed glare.
"Mr. Weasley, can you come here, please?" She asked as she stepped down from the small steps. His housemates cackled with delight as the red-faced idiot stood up and reluctantly headed up to his head-of-house. "Hand on my waist, if you please?" The woman asked as she placed one hand on his shoulder while the other was raised up to meet his. "W-What?" Weasley stammered his face got redder. Eloquent as always. Diana thought as she snorted a little. "My waist," McGonagall said in a final tone as she made his hand get placed on her waist. "Mr. Filtch, if you please." She said and the grubby looking man placed the needle on the record and music began to play. The Great Hall was silent as the students watched the two dance only for a little bit.
"Alright, all of you stand up! Pair up and start dancing!" Severus said in a loud voice and the Slytherins were the only ones who stood up. The gang paired up with each other and began dancing as more of the houses were reluctantly persuaded by their head-of-houses.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Why are people staring at us and snickering?" Diana asked Draco in a soft voice as they moved through the halls to get to their next class. The blonde cleared his throat before responding like he was unsure of what to tell her as he gave the lookers his best sneer. "There was an incident earlier involving Theo and Moody." Diana looked over to him with hidden surprise as they kept talking. "moody? Why didn't anybody tell me about this?" She asked in an annoyed tone. "What happened anyway?" Draco quickly looked over his shoulders on both sides before leaning in close to whisper to her. "The old bastard...he transfigured Theo into a weasel." Diana's eyes widened at this as she looked over to him. "A weasel?! Why the hell would he do that?!" She exclaimed in a hushed voice. The blonde shrugged his shoulders.
"How the hell should I know? Based on what Daphne and Neville said, the Weasel was trying to hex them. Theo drew out his wand in defense but Moody was quicker and transfigured Theo into a Weasel. Luckily McGonagall was around to change him. She heard Daphne yelling at Moody to change him back." Diana had stopped walking and looked Draco with surprise and anger. She was clenching her fist as she began walking again her brain racing. "What are you going to do?" Draco asked as he kept up with her. "We won't do anything for now. I'll tell my father in a letter. When the time comes, we will make him wish he hadn't messed with my friends.
December 18th, Friday
The courtyard seemed to be the prime spot to find a date for the Yule Ball. Students from all the schools mingled together. Girls squabbling on what their perfect dress would be. Boys were grumbling and scrambling to find a date. "I feel bad for these girls. I already have a date for the dance." Pansy said with a sniff as she walked with the gang. The boys smirked as they slapped Neville on the shoulder who chuckled at their antics. "With that being said, Natalya," Draco said, catching her attention as he reached out to hold her arm to stop her. The gang walked a little further to give them privacy before stopping to wait for them. Diana refrained from smiling when Draco ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous tick he always did.
"Avez-vous un rendez-vous avec la danse?" (F) (Do you have a date for the dance?) He then asked after a bit of silence. "Non je ne sais pas." (F) (No I don't.) She said as she shook her head. This brought a flicker in his grey eyes. "Me feriez-vous l'honneur d'être mon rendez-vous pour le bal de Noël?" (F) (Would you do me the honor of being my date to the Yule Ball?) He then asked, feeling like he was taking a plunge into unknown territory even though he subconsciously knows what her response would be. "Je serai ravi de vous accompagner." (F) (I will be delighted to go with you.) She said, bringing a bright smile on his face for just a brief moment.
December 19th, Saturday
"So many selections..." Ginny sighed as her cheeks puffed out while her fingers scanned through the copious amount of dresses. Hermione sighed across from her, doing the same thing. "I know. Which one would Christopher like on me?" She asked the red-head as she selected a rose-gold colored dress.
December 24th, Thursday
The Great Hall was decorated with winter aesthetics. The snow was magically falling from the ceiling but never covering the floor with white. Students slowly trickled into the Great Hall waiting for the champions to come in. The girls minus Hermione slowly walked down the main staircase, all dressed up. "You look beautiful, ladies," Draco said as the boys met them at the bottom of the stairs. Diana was dressed in a red off-the-shoulder long dress with floral and lace design on the bodice. Daphne was wearing a sparkly silver mermaid dress spaghetti dress with a v-neckline. Ginny was wearing a mermaid dress also but it was black and it was halter open back with diamonds. Pansy was wearing a purple satin spaghetti strap long dress with a v-neckline.
Pansy chuckled as she looked over to her date. "You boys don't look too bad yourself." She said. "Where is Hermione?" Theo asked when he realized the brunette wasn't there with them as he drew Daphne to his side. Pansy snorted as she placed her hand on the crook of Neville's arm and the others followed before the group slowly made their way to the Great Hall with the rest of the students. "Hermione is worried about the dress she bought. Couldn't stop asking us if we think he would like it." Daphne said in a teasing tone. The group laughed before they realized people waiting in by the staircase were silent, their mouth hanging open as they stared at the top of stairs. The gang looked over and they were shocked at the sight.
Hermione was dressed in a grey tulle long dress with a v-line, A-line neckline. "She looks fantastic," Neville commented once the shock wore off, shrugging his shoulders as he started walking with Pansy. "She should be worried about how Christopher reacts when he sees so many gawking." The gang nodded in agreement as they too proceeded into the Great Hall just as Christopher stepped up to Hermione as they met at the bottom. He was wearing a white military suit and pants with red and gold accents. He had a white cloak wit black fur collar drapped over his shoulders. Females that lingered behind glared jealously Hermione for snagging one of the most sought after guest students. They were not satisfied with being let down.
Hermione had a slight rosy tint to her cheeks as Christopher kissed the back of her hand, his dark eyes looking up at her as he did so. "Ty segodnya vyglyadish' isklyuchitel'no krasivoy, Hermione." (R) (You look exceptionally beautiful tonight, Hermione.) He said as he offered his arm to her.
December 25th, Friday
The Great Hall was bustling with excitement for breakfast as the students showed their friends what they got for Christmas while some others were opening their presents right at the table as owls dropped them off. There were no deliveries from the Daily Prophet but the sight was very similar to it. A cluster of owls shot through the open windows and fluttered through the sky towards the Slytherins table. It was last-minute gifts for the gang. An eagle owl landed in front of Draco and dropped off some parcels from Honeyduke's as well as two letters. Diana had taken a bite out of her croissant when Draco passed her one of the letters. "For you." He stated before he went back t untie the parcels from the owl's leg. Diana softly thanked him and opened her's.
My Lady,
I hope this letter finds you well this Christmas morning. It pleases me and Narcissa to hear that you and Draco are attending the Yule Ball together. I know that your mother would be most pleased with this and I have no doubt she would have been bouncing on her feet with Narcissa. As much as I know my son, I hope that the lessons I have taught him on how to court a woman have not dwindled over time. We, including your aunt and uncle as well as your father, will be seeing you at the Third Task.
-Lucius
P.S. Your father has enclosed a parcel from Honeyduke's
Diana had a smile on her face as she reached the end of the letter. She silently grabbed Draco's attention and motioned for him to read her letter. His grey eyes scanned the lines before he scowled at a particular sentence. "Merlin, my parents are so nosey." He grumbled half-heartedly as he went back to his breakfast, making Diana laugh.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Moy gospodin," (R) (My lord,) Valentina said as she walked into Tom's office. "My dolzhny byli dat' vam eto ran'she, no eto ne kazalos' vazhnym do sikh por." (R) (We should have given this to you earlier but it didn't seem important until now.) The woman said as she handed the man a vial of memories. "Oni iz Stepana i menya." (R) (They are from Stepan and I.) She said and Tom gave a small nod of his head. She inclined her head before heading back out of the office. Tom was silent as he looked down at the small vial in his hand. "Scab." He said and the house-elf appeared from thin air. "Master called Scab?" He squeaked as it bowed lowly. "Bring me the pensieve. Make sure no one comes in while I am viewing the memories."
The house-elf bowed its head once again before cracking away again. Within a second, the house-elf appeared again and placed the pensieve on his desk before disappearing for the fourth time. Tom was silent once again before he stood up while uncorking the vial. He poured the silvery contents into the pensieve. With his finger, he lightly stirred the contents before dipping his head into the liquid.
*~*~*~*Memories start*~*~*~*
"Christopher, pochemu by tebe ne vzyat' svoyu sestru v gostinuyu? Tvoya tetya i ya dolzhny pereodet'sya." (R) (Christopher, why don't you take your sister to the parlor room? Your aunt and I need to get changed.) Stepan said as he placed Diana gently down on her feet. Christopher nodded and the man left. "Come on, Diana." The boy said and he heaved his sister with him to the parlor room. They both were dressed for a Christmas party, a red velvet dress, and a black felt top with white stockings for her and cashmere sweater and black pants for him. Diana let out a fussy cry from the uncomfortable feeling. The little boy hoisted his sister on the couch and moved to sit next to her just as the baby sat on her butt.
There was a photo album already on the couch since he was looking through it earlier. Christopher pulled Diana between his legs so she wouldn't fall. The baby made small cooing sounds as the small boy opened the photo album in front of them. "I want to show you something, Diana." He said as he flipped through a few pages before stopping at a wedding photo of Lily and Tom. It was a black and white moving picture, the couple looking undoubtedly happy and absolutely in love. Diana took one look at the photo and let out a squeal before leaning forward to place her chubby hands on the picture, one on each of the parents. "That's right. That's Mom and Dad." He said softly as he pulled her back so she resting against his chest.
"I'll make sure you will always remember Mom and Dad." He said, watching his sister as she patted at the picture while babbling in baby talk. "Deti?" (R) A female's voice was heard after a while of the two looking through the photo album and they looked up to see Valentina and Stepan were standing at the doorway, all dressed up for the party. Neither looked worried at the sight of them looking at photos. In fact, they looked relieved. "Priyti. Gosti pochti zdes', i Scab khochet uznat' vashe mneniye o desertakh, kotoryye oni sdelali." (R) (Come. The guests are almost here and Scab wants your opinions on the desserts they made.) Stepan said with a smile as he stuck his hand out.
*~*~*~*Memories end*~*~*~*
Tom watched the rest of the memories, most are relatively similar. He watched as his children grew up in a loving environment but they always remembered what their parents looked like and acted. He was incredibly proud of how his children became, especially Christopher. He kept his promise of taking care of his sister.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
Since the students couldn't go home for the holidays like usual, the house-elves prepared a grandiose feast, even going so far as to prepare more traditional food for the guests to feed off the homesickness. "Ginny? Pourquoi ton frère idiot a-t-il l'air de vouloir assassiner quelqu'un?" (F) (Ginny? Why does your idiot brother look like he wants to murder someone?) Pansy asked when she happened to look over at the Gryffindor table. Ginny raised an eyebrow at her friend's question and she looked over her shoulder before turning back around, snorting. "Parce que ma famille n'a pas assez d'argent et en plus il était mauvais depuis le début du mandat. Ma mère a dit qu'il ne méritait pas d'avoir une nouvelle robe et un nouveau costume. Il devait venir à la danse dans un costume que mon grand-oncle portait." (F) (Because my family doesn't have enough money and plus he had been since the start of the term. My mom said he didn't deserve to have a new dress robe and suit. He had to come to the dance in a suit my great uncle used to wear.)
Some of the gang looked very satisfied with the embarrassment and some looked horrified. "Attendez, c'était Weaselbee dans cet horrible costume? Je ne savais même pas que c'était lui parce que j'y jetais un coup d'œil et je devais détourner le regard." (F) (Wait, that was Weaselbee in that horrid looking suit? I didn't even know it was him because I took one glance at it and I had to look away.) Draco said, looking like he had seen something very disturbing and had scarred his life permanently. Ginny smirked, looking like the Slytherin she became to. "Exactement. Avec quelques espions bien placés autour du dortoir de Gryffondor, je peux bavarder tout ce que je veux." (F) (Exactly. With a few well-placed spies around the Gryffindor dorm, I can tattle all I want.)
February 24th, Wednesday
"Êtes-vous sûr que cela fonctionnera?" (F) (Are you sure this will work?) Christopher asked Neville as the two secretly met under the alcove in the courtyard. The boy gave him a 'are you serious' look and nods. "Bien sûr. J'avais fait une petite expérience si l'herbe à bec était efficace dans l'eau salée ou l'eau douce. Le lac noir est de l'eau douce. Ça ira. Je ne vois pas pourquoi vous ne pourriez pas simplement vous transformer en votre forme animagus." (F) (Of course. I had done a small experiment on whether gilly weed was effective in either saltwater or freshwater. The Black Lake is freshwater. You'll be fine. I don't see why you couldn't just transform into your animagus form.)
Christopher glared at the kid as if he just remembered why. "Je ne peux pas parce que ce vieil enculé va surveiller chacun de mes mouvements. Je vais très probablement essayer de me pénaliser parce que je suis plus avancé que la plupart des concurrents. Ivanchenkov m'a dit d'utiliser ma forme d'animagus à la dernière seconde." (F) (I can't because that old fucker is going to be watching my every move. Most likely going to try to penalize me for being more advanced than most of the contestants. Ivanchenkov told me to just use my animagus form at the last second.) Neville nodded in understanding. "I'll see you after the second task. Good luck." He said, making the older male smirk.
Christopher was about to leave when he remembered something. "Oh, avez-vous vu Hermione? Je ne l'ai pas vue depuis hier." (F) (Oh, have any of you seen Hermione? I haven't seen her since yesterday.) Neville frowned, realizing that neither of them had seen her either. "Non, aucun de nous ne l'a fait. Nous avons supposé qu'elle était avec vous." (F) (No, none of us have. We assumed she was with you.)
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second task of the Tri-wizard Tournament!" Dumbledore's voice boomed over the joyous cheers of students with the Sonorus charm. Dumbledore then went on to explain the rules of the second task to the spectators, giving time for Christopher to discreetly stuff the gilly weed into his mouth. It wasn't a pleasent feeling in his mouth with much effort on his part, he managed to swallow it, trying his hardest not to shudder at the wriggling feeling going down his throat. Once he felt like his stomach wasn't going to do flips, he made his way to the edge and looked up too where the spectators were sitting, hoping to see that brunette there with the gang, but no Hermione.
Where is she? He thought. "Anton!" He turned his head to the direction of the voice and noticed Ivanchenkov was motioning for him to get ready. He stiffly nodded and he with the other champions moved to stand side by side at the edge, facing the cold water below. Hearts hammered loudly in chests as the minute hand on the clock ticked away, getting closer and closer to the top of the hour. With a loud boom, the cannon fired off a cannonball into the air just as he started feeling pain in his neck. He was the last champion to dive into the lake, but his body felt so heavy as he slowly sank to the bottom. His limbs didn't even move to swim up to the surface because all his attention was on his neck which was in searing pain.
He let out a guttural groan as he clawed at his neck, bubbles rising from his mouth before he noticed what he was feeling. Gills. He looked down at his hands and feet. They were webbed like a frog's. As Neville said, the gilly weed works in the lake. He could even breathe underwater as well.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
It has been nearly forty-five minutes since he had started swimming and he finally made it to a forest of kelp a little bit after the champions, the greenery swaying gently to the motion of the water. He could hear the same song that was coming out of the golden egg. It sounded eerie in the water as he saw through the kelpy forest. He heard something fluttering through the water behind him and he quickly turned around with his wand clutched tightly in his hand. He knew there were other creatures in the Black Lake besides merfolks but based on how long he had been in the water, the gilly weed won't last much longer and he will have to use his animagus form much sooner then he would like if he needs to defend himself against any creatures.
He kicked his feet faster so he could get to his destination faster when he heard a warbled shriek behind him and he quickly stopped to look behind him once again. That sounded like Delacour got attacked by something. Honestly, he couldn't care less about the French woman. He went back to swimming, finally reaching a clearing in the kelp forest. He saw merfolk swimming around and a couple of them with tridents were guarding what looked like rag dolls with kelp tied around their ankle to keep them anchored to one spot. He swam closer to investigate and he realized that they were actually students and they were taken as part of the second task. He noticed Hermione was among those that have been taken.
Her normally creamy skin looked pale underwater wit her curly hair haloing around her head, giving her an eerily angelic appearance. However, Christopher only counted three students. He gritted his teeth. Dumbledore must have thought it would be fun for two of the champions to fight just for the sport of it. Christopher quickly swam over to unconscious Hermione while avoiding the hissing and glares from the merfolk and was about to untie her when he heard the merfolks let out shrieks before bolting off to the distance. He turned his head just in time to see a great white shark charging at him with its mouth wide open at the same time as Diggory appeared. He let out a yelp as he quickly got out of the way just as the jaws whizzed by him and snapped the kelp that was around Hermione's ankle with sharp teeth.
Christopher saw the name 'Krum' on the back of the red jersey and his vision turned red as he saw Krum drag Hermione away towards the surface. Diggory has untied Chang and used acendio to shoot up to the surface. No one takes my girl away from me. He thought as his body started to shift. Any fishes that were swimming by bolted away, like they knew what he was changing in to.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
"Cedric Diggory is the first one! Congratulations, Mr. Diggory!" Crouch Sr. said over the roar of those from Hogwarts. "What is taking him so long?" Diana asked as he looked intently down at the lake from the spectator's stand. The gang didn't have anything to say but they also were worried. Did something happen to Christopher down below? "Woah. Cos'è quello?" (I) (Woah. What is that?) Blaise asked with bewilderment as he pointed towards the water. "Qualcosa sta arrivando e sta arrivando velocemente." (I) (Something is coming up and it's coming up fast.) He said and a dragon shot up from the water. Spectators screamed as water rained down on them from above as Christopher in his dragon form shot up high in the sky right above the spectators stand before he snapped his wings open, sending more water down below.
"Je vois Hermione! Elle est serrée dans sa main!" (F) (I see Hermione! She is clutched in his hand!) Theo exclaimed as he pointed towards the dragon's clutched paw just as the clock hand reached the top of the hour. "Mr. Ivanov, congratulations on finishing second! That leaves us with the end of the task!" Crouch said. The spectators started murmuring to each other, wondering why the man didn't announce Krum. Did something happen to him in the Black Lake? "Unfortunately, Miss Delacour and Mr. Krum were unable to finish the task." The spectators, especially those who were cheering for Krum, groaned in protest. Christopher flapped his great wings a little as he slowly descended towards the dock below until his body was in the water. The crowd on the deck parted as he reached his taloned paws to deposit Hermione on the dock.
The brunette was shivering as someone from Koldovstoretz placed a bathrobe over her. She, however, was too distracted from glaring at someone. She marched over to the dragon, who had stuck his head under the spectators' stand, and pointed a finger at him. "Spit him out!" She said in a warning tone. The dragon simply stared at her, not moving an inch. That made the brunette very annoyed. She started tapping her shoes impatiently. "Spit him out. Now." Her eyes spoke volumes of what she was going to do to him as she jabbed towards the floor with her pointer finger. The dragon rolled its eyes before tilting his head down and opened his mouth, letting a saliva-covered Krum roll off on to the dock.
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
The rest of the day was filled with snickers from all schools whenever Krum was mentioned or seen around After it was revealed that Krum got trapped in Christopher's mouth, those in charge of operating the Tri-wizard Tournament and the headmasters of all the schools had a meeting to discuss what to do. The meeting seemed to go on for hours until finally, they came to a conclusion. The points will go to Christopher since he had actually got the intended prize, much to Krum's obvious displeasure. He would glare at Christopher from across the Great Hall during breakfast.
March 27th, Saturday
The Great Hall was rolling wih chatter but it seemed frantic and with unease as they waited for their lunch to be served. "Que se passe-t-il?" (F) (What is going on?) Diana asked when she noticed the professors' table was empty. "Crouch a été retrouvé mort sur le terrain de l'école. Apparemment, la marque de ton père planait sur son cadavre." (F) (Crouch has been found dead on school grounds. Apparently, your father's mar was hovering over his dead body.) Ginny said. Diana raised an eyebrow at that. "Mon père ne serait pas assez effronté pour le faire avec beaucoup de fonctionnaires du ministère présents." (F) (My father would not be that brazen enough to do that with a lot of Ministry officials present.) She said, knowing for a fact the Dark Lord would never jeopardize their hard work by doing that. "Segodnya vecherom moy brat svyazhetsya s moim ottsom. Tam dolzhno byt' bol'she k etomu." (R) (I will have my brother contact my father tonight. There has to be more to this.)
*~*~*~*:*~*~*~*
The fireplace flared green as Severus stepped through on to the Ivanov parlor room just as Tom stepped in to the room. "Is it true, Severus?" The potions master silently nodded. That made the dark lord curse as he started pacing left and right. "How dare that old bastard try to frame one of my followers." He hissed loudly. Severus let out a snort as he remained standing with his arms now crossing his chest. "And that surprises you? You do realize that he has done that before." Tom sent him a scathing look for his remark as he continued on pacing. "I will call for a meeting. When you go back to the school, I want you to tell my daughter that I need her to find out who killed Crouch. If my suspicions are correct, it has to have been that crazy bastard, Moody."
*~*~*~*~:*~*~*~*
"How in Merlin's name are we going to do that?" Theo asked incredulously. The rest of the gang nodded their heads in agreement as they watched Diana start pacing side to side in front of the Slytherin common room fireplace. Dinner had long since been over with the stream of aurors coming in to investigate Crouch's unexpected murder. Rain was pelting down from the night sky, casting watery shadows on the cold floor. "That man is constantly aware of his surroundings." Blaises pointed out as he leaned forwards in the couch to prop his elbows on his thighs and glanced at his follow friends. "There is no way to find out what he is doing without getting caught." Heads were nodding as they raked their brains for more ideas. "We can't use potions either." Daphne added. "I have no doubt he has taken antidotes for every potion imaginable as well as poisons." Diana had finally stopped pacing as she gazed out of the window to looked down at the school grounds.
"There is one way." She said softly as she folded her arms across her stomach. "What is it?" Draco asked as he stood up to stand next to her, his cobalt eyes gazing at her features. "Karkaroff." She simply said, making the rest of the gang confused. "Him? Are you sure we can trust him?" Draco asked with a frown as he folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah. Hasn't he been quiet since after the first wizarding war? Won't he tell Dumbledore?" Neville asked. Diana turned around to face her friends as she rested against a small stand that was against the wall. "I don't fully trust him, as does my father. He has made the mistake of trying to give names to the Ministry during his time in Azkaban."
The gang nodded their heads. They had heard about that incident from their parents. Only one of the names that Karkaroff said during his trial was investigated. Luckily, nothing panned since the Dark Lord trained his followers to cover their tracks. Some better then others. Due to that investigation, some very minor Death Eaters were caught. So minor, that they didn't even have very good information. However, they were still arrested for barely being initiated into being a Death Eater. After Tom was reborn, he nearly went to Durmstrang to kill the man himself. "If he values his pathetic life, he will do as he is asked." Diana said. "Severus has caught him lurking around in the corridors at night since Durmstrang has arrived here."
A sudden flash of lightening erupted through the night sky, illuminating her back and casting weird shadows on her face. "What are you planning to do?" Neville asked.
March 28th, Sunday
"Where are you taking me, Severus?" Karkaroff huffed in a thick accent as he followed close behind the potions master. It was mid-day and the aurors were still investigating so all of the students were cooped up in their common rooms for the time being. "Just be quiet, Kararoff and follow me like the sniveling dog that you are. " He sneered as his black cloak flapped dramatically behind him as he walked quickly through the corridor. Karkaroff gave him a scathing look as he silently followed the man. Turn after turn, they finally stopped in front of the portrait portal to the Slytherin's common room. Severus muttered the password and the portrait swung open to give them access. Severus gave Karkaroff a silent motion for him enter.
The man muttered angrily something in Russian as he looked around him for any lookers before entering and Severus followed right after. The portrait closed with a low thump. The only light source was from the lit fireplace since all the window curtains in the common room was closed. "So good for you to come, Igor." A young female's taunting voice cut through the darkness and his eyes moved to the direction of the voice. He didn't noticed anything at first but he saw a figure sitting in the winged back chair hiding in the shadows. Karkaroff scowled angrily, his fingers balled into a fist. "How dare you speak to me like that. Who are you and what do you want?" He hissed. Another figure appeared from the shadows, seemingly from behind the chair. "How dare you speak to the Dark Lady like that." The figure hissed menacingly.
Karkaroff's face went pale and he dropped down to his knees. "I-I'm sorry, my lady. I didn't mean to speak to you like that." He said in a meek voice. A feminine hand peeked from the shadows and made a sweeping motion as if to discard his apology. "There is no need to apologize, Igor. I have no quarrel with you. You do have one with my father though." The mention of that made the man start quivering and sweat started to appear on his forehead. There was silence for a little bit as he felt eyes gazing hard at him. "There is something I need you to do, Igor."