I'll keep this short. Life got rough for a while there, and I didn't have a computer for most of that time. But I have a computer now, and I hope to get back to the one thing other than music that makes me happy: writing.

Thanks everyone, old and new, for the occasional reminder emails I get that this story, my baby, is still in my head waiting to be born.

A week into the new term and Harry still felt wonderfully relaxed. Even Potions was going well, and Defense was highly informative, even with the creepy way Moody stared at him. He'd managed to decipher that the next event in the tournament would be a scavenger hunt of sorts, so he worked on spells and techniques to search for lost items. That event was scheduled for the end of February, so he also researched warming charms he could wear with his uniform. That part wasn't so hard, but Hermione had helpfully pointed out that certain charms could interfere with the task. He also went back to the history of the tournament and saw that at least one task always involved water. He had never been as glad that he learned how to swim the past summer as the moment he realized he might have to swim for part of the task. Still, he'd put off refreshing his swimming skills for lack of a place to do it, besides he had tons of homework that needed doing, and he needed to be ahead in his classes as preparation for the next task grew closer.

Two days later Harry was walking back from his study session with Daphne when he ran into Draco in the hallway.

"Are you ready for the next task?" Draco asked.

Harry blinked at his cousin, who had appeared rather suddenly. Usually Draco stayed towards the dungeons after classes. Harry supposed that perhaps he was having another study session with Anne, but the absence of books made that unlikely. "Not really. I've been doing research into what the next task could be, but I'm at a loss except it will probably involve water."

Draco nodded, then grabbed Harry and pulled him along behind him. "Well that's well and good but the Slytherins have decided that as our champion you need assistance if you're going to win spectacularly."

Harry sputtered as Draco pulled him along behind him to a larger study-room nearby where books had been piled on a table and three older Slytherins were waiting for him.

"Found him!" Draco announced and shoved him into the room.

"Hello?" Harry greeted cautiously. So that's what Draco's game was… probably found out when his session with Daphne was and stalked him accordingly. Harry resisted the urge to sigh or be irritated at Draco's antics.

"Pucey, Aster." The older girl greeted. She was tiny with brown hair light blue eyes.

"Farley, Ian" a boy with sandy hair and brown eyes stood next. He was quite tall and muscular. If he were a muggle Harry could easily picture him playing football.

"Warrington, Tristan" was last. He was shorter than Farley but still taller than either he or Draco. He had dark hair and dark eyes with a strong jaw. Harry was reminded that there had been a Warrington on the Quidditch team, and this was likely his brother. He looked like he'd make a good beater or rugby player.

Harry greeted each person and sat down in the chair when told to do so. He startled a bit when Warrington fired a scanning spell at him and nodded when it turned up empty.

"Alright, now as our champion, we have taken it upon ourselves to make sure you match up with those others in every subject. Draco says you're pretty good in Defense and rapidly improving in Potions, but there are other subjects you'll need to improve in if you stand a chance at winning." Warrington began.

Pucey nodded, her short hair bobbing along with her head. "We're all sixth years, so we have time to spare and the knowledge to get you up to speed, so long as you're not opposed to learning spells that aren't exactly Hogwarts approved curriculum."

Harry found that surprisingly, no he did not mind studying things that might not be on the approved curriculum.

"No, that's fine. I'm up for anything that will improve my performance from the last event. I'm all ears." Harry replied.

"Good." Warrington nodded approvingly. "Let's get started. Thanks for grabbing him, Draco." Harry watched as Draco took his leave, and turned back to face his new tutors.

"Don't be fooled. By the end of this year we want you past the knowledge you would know by the end of your sixth year in certain areas, since we are essentially catching you up to our level. We won't worry with theory, since the test in the Tournament is how well you can cast the spells, not how well you know the theory. We'll also be going off the books, so to speak, so that you'll have a few cards up your sleeve to set you apart from Diggory and the others. Trust me, besides being older, Diggory, Krum and Delacour all have things that they specialize in." Farley told him. "Draco says you're good at Defense, best in your year, so we can build from there if we need to, but there are other things you'll need to know besides how to chase off a boggart and detection spells. You'll also need to know more offensive spells and general knowledge that will help you. There's loads of stuff you'd never learn if you just stuck to the Hogwarts syllabus. Most of us magically raised have the advantage of having parents who encourage self study before and outside of Hogwarts, and the knowledge of subjects and branches not covered within the core curriculum. While I am certain Lord Black is the same way, you haven't been with him long enough to see the benefits yet."

They started with testing out Harry's current abilities, and Harry quickly found out that Warrington was indeed the bruiser of the group. His specialty was dueling, while Pucey specialized in rare spells and Farley was a genius at Transfiguration, Charms and Defense. They found him quite satisfactory in Defense and made their aim to add to his dueling repertoire as well as increasing the amount and strength of spells he knew outside of dueling.

After the lesson he was exhausted but beaming inwardly. The three older Slytherins were less enthused.

"Well, that's a good start, Potter. You certainly learn fast when given the proper motivation." Pucey was busy packing up the books they'd used.

"You'll need a lot more coaching, while you are as advertised as far as what is expected of a fourth year in Defense, other areas are still sorely lacking, despite you now having a tutor. But like Aster said you have a knack for practical casting, even in areas where your knowledge falls short. We'll meet three times a week. Be here on Wednesday." Warringtion instructed. "We might be able to turn you into a passable wizard yet."

"Thank you." Harry nodded, accepting the two books Pucey handed him.

"Study these between now and Wednesday. They are spells that we expect you to be able to attempt by then. There's also some interesting information that might assist you in general. Just be careful who you let see you reading those books. They are quite rare, and not everybody should be aware of the content in those books." Pucey further instructed.

"Understood."

"Good, see you next time." Farley waved Harry out the door.

Harry smiled to himself as he looked down at the books. It was the first time that he felt he had even half a chance at winning this tournament, and that was a good feeling.

Early February

Harry had made great progress between his study sessions with the Slytherins and his own increased study outside of class. The books had proven invaluable, as they contained a lot of information not found in his regular Hogwarts curriculum. Most of the information simply filled in holes in his knowledge of the core subjects, but others were along the lines of bordering on Dark magic, but the spells, techniques and bits of history seemed pretty benign despite Pucey's warning that they were not 'Hogwarts Approved'. They'd added several other books and packets of information to his reading list, and all of the new information simply left him wondering what else there was to learn. He knew that he still had three and a half years of Hogwarts curriculum ahead of him, but given that some people stopped studying certain subjects after fifth year, and he could easily see it taking at least twice that to cover the information he was getting access to it baffled him how people could justify considering a wizard fully trained after the OWL levels.

Still, he didn't mind as long as nobody got hurt and he didn't get in trouble. It was following such a session that Harry ran into Cedric, who he had not seen in the Great Hall since near the beginning of the term.

"Hi Harry."

"Hey Ced, how are you?"

"Decent enough, and you?" Cedric replied.

"Good. Still trying to figure out if there's anything else I need to do for the next task." Harry replied. He left out that he had Slytherins basically giving him an extra preparation course, but Harry would be lying to himself if he believed that Cedric was not busy doing the same thing himself. He was dating a Ravenclaw, that had to come with extra perks.

Cedric shrugged. "Historically they've been swimming or water tasks... "

Harry nodded. "Yeah I figured that much. I wonder if that's what the converted stadium is for?"

Cedric looked thoughtful. "I suppose, either this task or the final task. May be both. Makes sense since they're likely to draw a bigger crowd than last time."

Harry nodded. "Indeed."

Cedric shrugged. "There were rumors that there was supposed to be a task in the Black Lake, but it was vetoed since it's too cold and the native populations are too unpredictable. I'm sure there were other reasons also. So maybe they've converted the pitch into a swimming pool?"

Harry thought about it. "Certainly would explain the size."

Cedric nodded his agreement. "And the last tournament had a scavenger hunt. We couldn't do that here in the castle, because we'd have an unfair advantage. Anyway, I'd best be going. See ya around!"

Harry waved goodbye to Cedric and changed directions, heading for the library. Confirmation of his theory that there would be a scavenger hunt meant that he needed to step up his research so that he'd be able to figure out the clues. He needed to tell Pucey about what Cedric had told him. She'd tell the others, and perhaps they'd go over water hazards. There had been some discussion of how to handle the latest task, but his tutors seemed focused on dueling and preparing him for the win. They were absolutely certain that the last task would be a physical one drawing on as much magical talent and knowledge as he could muster, and though Harry was inclined to agree, he still needed to survive the upcoming task first, and hopefully earn enough points to secure an advantage in the final task.

Harry eyed the Black Lake with trepidation. It was very cold outside and there was ice floating on different parts of the lake. Pucey and Warrington had indeed started including their knowledge of aquatic fauna in the lessons, but they suggested that he get some 'practical experience' as well.

In short, he needed to practice swimming, and while he knew the passwords to the Prefect bathrooms thanks to Warrington, those tubs weren't deep enough for a proper practice. Sure he could swim laps and go underwater, but given that the task likely involved having to retrieve something from under the surface, he needed to practice swimming in deep water for extended lengths of time, plus he doubted that the water used for the tournament would be free of obstacles and set at a perfect bathing temperature.

At least there weren't many people around to see his attempt. It was too cold for socializing outside, and thus most people were indoors like normal, sane individuals on this frigid Saturday. It was well below freezing out, but the task was fast approaching and he was out of options.

Harry braced himself and recast the warming charm he put on his outfit, a skin-tight swim set he'd gotten in the mail the day before. Once he told Sirius of his theory, the brilliant man had suggested buying a magical scuba suit. The proper one was still on the way, and the outfit would come in handy since it would have a temperature control charm built in, plus it was designed for being under deep water for an extended amount of time. He still had to make sure it was green to be within regs for the tournament, which is why it was taking a bit longer to arrive. He'd received a training suit when he got the confirmation for his special order, and it would allow him to get used to swimming in a full body suit. It had come with a breathing mask that was like a modified bubblehead charm, but Harry found that in his trial in the bathroom it was too uncomfortable and difficult to use. Plus it interfered with his ability to cast spells, and he was certain he'd need to be able to use his mouth. The mouthpiece made that nearly impossible.

Harry took a deep gulp of the frosty air and dove down, swimming around and getting used to the wet suit again before swimming down further a bit. The charm was holding up but the water was still cold. Harry did an experimental dive as far as he could, pushing until his lungs burned. He could already start to feel the charm fail as it had to work overtime to keep the suit warm, and his fingers were absolutely freezing. Harry surfaced, recasting the charm as soon as he did and going back underwater to try and swim further.

After needing to surface a couple more times Harry gave up trying to stay underwater on his breath support alone and exited the water, quickly grabbing his robes and making a beeline for the castle. A suit that could maintain a steady temperature would be a great asset to him, but he needed to work out how to stay underwater longer. He dried himself off as he walked, so that he didn't drip water everywhere. Hopefully nobody noticed his swim, since he purposefully chose the opposite side of the lake from most of the castle windows and away from the longboats. He could do without people questioning his sanity.

At the entrance hall the sound of the mid-day meal greeted his ears, but he was not up to being social. Still, a warm beverage and a snack sounded wonderful as he worked to warm his body back up to a reasonable temperature. A large cup of cocoa was exactly what he needed after being in such cold water.

Harry worked his way down to the kitchens, hoping to catch a few elves that were not too busy and grab his cocoa. Luck was on his side, because as soon as he entered the door Dobby launched himself at him.

"Harry Potter sir is visiting Dobby!" Dobby cried happily.

Harry nodded. "Do you think I could have some cocoa and a bite to eat?"

Dobby's ears bounced as he nodded. "Yes sir!"

Soon Harry was sitting as close to the kitchen fire as possible drinking his chocolate and eating one of the roast beef sandwiches that had been on offer in the Great Hall. A small mountain of treats sat next him, and Dobby was wringing his hands and bouncing on his heels watching as Harry struggled to warm back up. His hands still felt numb from the swim.

"Why is Harry Potter sir cold?" Dobby asked. "Are the others not keeping the dorm warm enough? The Great Harry Potter sir should never be cold!"

Harry shook his head. "I was swimming in the Black Lake, and it's freezing."

Dobby looked scandalized. "Why was Harry Potter sir swimming in the lake? It is too cold outside!" Dobby snapped and a warm blanket appeared around Harry's shoulders. Instantly Harry felt a bit warmer. Apparently the warming charms he was casting weren't as strong as he thought, or the water had been colder than he thought it was. He hoped the extreme cold had not weakened his magic, because that would make the task infinitely harder.

"I need to practice swimming deep underwater for the next task, Dobby." Harry replied.

Dobby stopped worrying his hands. "There is a room here, the others say, that turns into many things for wizards. It is the come-and-go room. We elves often find lost items there but sometimes it is there and sometimes it is not. The older elves here say that they have seen the room change depending on who is using it. You walk past the wall and a door appears. Maybe there is a place to swim there?"

Harry looked at Dobby. "A room that changes? How come I've never heard of it before?"

Dobby shook his head. "It is a great secret. Us elves know because sometimes we have to go look for things that have gotten lost. The older elves say the room hides, but the Great Harry Potter can find it! It is by the picture of trolls trying to dance."

"Thank you Dobby. Thanks for lunch, too." Harry felt much warmer now, back to normal almost. He left Dobby to his genuflecting and decided to see if he could find this room with the spare time he had left before his next training session with the Slytherins.

Harry decided he would be best served starting with the emptier corridors in search of the hidden room. He made his way to the seventh floor and began looking for a picture of dancing trolls. He hit paydirt closer to the end of one fo the longer corridors. There was indeed a picture of someone attempting to teach trolls to dance. The label described this misguided individual as Barnabas the Barmy. However there were no doors to be found. Harry pulled out his map, hoping to perhaps see a corridor hidden behind the picture, but the map displayed the area as simply a blank expanse of wall.

So Harry started searching around the picture, looking for a hidden switch or brick out of place. After a few moments of pacing, trying to find the room, Harry thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned around, facing the wall opposite the picture, and there was a door where there had not been one previously.

"Well. That's anticlimactic." Harry shrugged, opening the door.

Harry stood, mesmerized, as he faced what looked like a huge mountain of junk. Books were everywhere, as well as old cloaks, broken broomsticks and the odd trinket. As he walked, not missing the opportunity to take books that looked interesting, he came across a portrait of a man dozing. The face was oddly familiar, but for the moment Harry couldn't place it. His robes were ornate, but extremely old-fashioned, almost in the style like the Bloody Baron wore. As Harry looked, the man woke and sneered at him.

"It's not nice to stare at a person as they sleep." The man frowned.

"I apologize. I was trying to figure out who you are. Your portrait isn't labeled."

The man stopped short. "I see. What year is it?"

"1995."

The man sighed. "After forty years stuck in this hovel it's a wonder anybody even knows this room exists anymore. Although after the last chap, I suppose that may be a good thing. And I suppose that after so long absent from my previous home that my name too has been lost."

Harry nodded. "What is this room, sir? My elf told me it existed, but not much else."

The man looked at Harry carefully, then seeming satisfied with whatever he was looking for, straightened his posture. "This is the Room of Requirement, or at least a version of it. This particular room is the Room of Hidden Things. Whether hidden here intentionally, by accident or by magic, here is where most items end up that get lost around the castle. There are treasures in this room from centuries past, books and trinkets lost to the generations."

Harry nodded, looking around. "Do you know how to change the room into a different version? My elf mentioned that it becomes different things, but he did not know how to make it change."

The portrait snorted. "Is this what we have been reduced to? Taking advice from house elves?"

Harry was to the point of begging. "Please sir?"

The portrait laughed. "Since you asked so nicely. You go back out the door, and pace in front of it three times. The door should appear to change, be it a different design or some additional marks. That is how you will know."

"Thank you, sir." Harry smiled. "May I ask why you are in here?"

"You may. That other whelp thought I had too much information. He was a paranoid one, so he took me down from my home and stuck me in here. I do not know why he bothered. It wasn't like I had many visitors anymore to begin with."

Harry pondered that as a large snake came into the portrait. The man turned to it and smiled. "I was wondering when you would come back."

"Your other portrait is much more entertaining these days." The snake turned look at Harry. "We have visitors?"

The man smiled. "He is only one visitor, but yes, we do."

Harry had to stop himself from asking a stupid question. They were speaking Parseltongue, himself included, and probably had been the whole time.

"Are you Slytherin?" Harry asked, aware now that he had been speaking the snake-language the entire time.

The man laughed. "I am a Slytherin, as in that is my last name. But I am not Salazar. I am his great-grandson, Caligula. The school was failing due to a drop in enrollment, so the Masters of the school came to my father to ask if he would permit me to attend. They felt that having the great-grandson of a Founder attending would help entice the other older families to send their children to Hogwarts again, and entice instructors to become a part of building the Hogwarts legacy. He acquiesced, and I finished my last two years here and basically saved Hogwarts from becoming defunct. Once I'd finished my advanced training they approached me to teach, and I did so until I died. I continued to study and train in arcane and advanced magics, and greatly expanded the curriculum here at the school. My portrait used to hang in the Entrance Hall among other distinguished alumni until it was moved to the Slytherin dormitories where I continued to give guidance and support to those who were sorted there. It wasn't until quite recently that I was removed to this space, although I've always known of the Room and have made use of it on occasion."

"Thank you. Now that I know how the room works I can come back. Do you only help Slytherins?"

The man shook his head. "I used to. Before I was moved to the dorms I used to help everyone who was worthy of my guidance. I don't speak the modern tongue, and though other guardians of the castle learned it to continue to help the newest generation, I decided that I would only assist those who learned to speak to me."

"In Parsel?" Harry queried.

"In Gaelic. My mother was a Scot. I didn't learn English until I got to Hogwarts, and back then we used Latin for instruction. I learned enough English to get by and be an effective mentor, but there's only so much magic a portrait can hold, and I decided to imbue my portrait with more knowledge about substantive information and not useless languages. As a portrait I speak Latin, Gaelic and Parsel. Usually when students figured out that I didn't speak English, they would reaserch and chose to learn Gaelic or Latin to converse with me if they didn't already know one or the other. Occasionally I would get my decendants or family members, but they preferred speaking to my other portraits. I would even occasionally get descendants from other lines that carried the Parsel gift, but as time continued Hogwarts became closed off to such scholars."

Here Harry interrupted the portrait. "You mean that you don't have to be a descendant from your family to be a Parselmouth?"

Caligula laughed. "Heavens no. You have to be from a family of certain lineages, but Slytherin was not the only family with the gift, even among the British. Considering that my family came here from Spain and there were already Parselmouths studying with various scholars at the school established by Merlin's protege when Salazar's grandfather arrived. Do they not teach about inborn magical gifts at Hogwarts? I know it was falling out of favor, with families wishing to keep such information close at home, but there should have been at least some discussion about how certain magical talents and traits run in the blood, Parseltongue chief among them."

Harry shook his head. "No, they don't teach anything about magical gifts that you can be born with at Hogwarts."

Caligula continued "Parseltongue, despite being a trait you are simply born with, got a bad reputation because one of my descendants went mad and tried to take over the Wizard's Council, so nobody really wanted to speak it out in the open, but once I moved to the Slytherin dorms there were a quite few who spoke it still."

Harry nodded. "Parsel has a bad reputation still. I only know of one other who could speak it. He was called a Dark Lord, and one of his biggest claims to fame was being a descendant of your family. It is actually his murder of my parents that caused me to be an orphan, which led me to being raised in the muggle world. I am still woefully behind in training as an heir to the Potter legacy. Still, I'll not be ashamed of my ability to use it if it can help me, especially if it is a trait I was born with and not something he passed on to me in his attempt to kill me."

Caligula nodded. "That is not how magical gifts work. You cannot pass your natural gift on to another, not even through spirtual means."

"Are there spells that only work in Parsel?" Harry asked.

Caligula thought for a moment. "There are, at least there were. There were spells and effects that were specific to Parsel. Not that they only worked in Parsel, but it was a Parselmouth that developed the spell, and thus only someone native in the tongue or who had apprenticed with a Parselmouth could cast it effectively. Spellcrafters work tirelessly to develop new spells, and given the lack of those who naturally speak Parsel it is highly likely that spellcrafters have created spells that mimic the effects of those Parseltongue spells. I have not studied actual spellcraft in centuries. My expertise now lies in theory, history, rituals and the arcane; those magical arts for which the centuries will not change the end results. Knowing spells and having a bevy of them at your disposal is useful, but if you know how a spell works you know how to change it to suit your needs. Parsel, or any other rare tongue only helps in that it delays your opponent in knowing what you have cast, although the truly elite duelers do not speak their spells aloud when they duel. For someone of your age, I suggest a small selection of spells in Parsel until you master silent casting. Although, if you do manage to find a spell in Parseltongue that is not duplicated in Latin or English it is to your advantage to learn it. They would be rare spells indeed. Any spell that is normally cast in a different language will be stronger for you if you cast it in Parsel, since the language is a part of your magic."

"That makes a lot of sense. I must be off, sir. My study group is due to start soon and I must not be late. We will talk again, hopefully." Harry looked at the portrait expectantly.

"Yes, we will. It has been too long since a Parselmouth came to visit seeking guidance. Fare well."

Harry turned and made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him and pacing as the man suggested, hoping to at least see if the pool would be useful in his training. The door did indeed change; there were different inscriptions on the door and the door itself felt heavier.

Harry stepped in and saw that there were benches along the wall, and a massive pool in the middle of the room. Leaning over the side Harry could not see to the very bottom, but he could see that there was thick vegetation and shadows moving around below the surface. Even on the shallower end the water was murky. An experimental toe revealed that the water was chilly, but not icy.

Harry smiled to himself. This would be good practice for the upcoming task.

Harry left the room and paced thrice more, watching as the door vanished into the brick wall surrounding it. A quick look at his watch showed him that he had just enough time to grab his bag before meeting with Draco and the others.

Harry pushed his latest book aside. The spell for the bubble-head charm was the closest he could find to finding a way to breathe underwater, but the book noted that it was less effective underwater over an extended period of time since it could not process oxygen from the water and thus the amout of usuable air would diminish over extended periods of time, and would impair his vision besides. It seemed that all the mask did was make it so that he didn't have to cast the bubble-head charm.

"Hey Harry."

Harry looked up from his corner of the common room and smiled as Neville walked over to him. He had not seen much of the other boy since the beginning of the new term, but it was good to see the boy who was fast becoming a very good friend.

"Hey Neville. How's everything?"

"Good. What are you working on?" Neville looked at the pile of books with a little bit of trepidation. None of them were assigned books for any class.

"Trying to figure out how to breathe underwater without the bubble-head charm." Harry replied.

"Oh. For the next task? You think it will be a water task?" Neville queried.

"Yeah, pretty sure it will be." Harry sighed. "So far most of these books just reference variations of the bubble head charm. Nothing that addresses needing to cast spells while underwater."

Neville scratched his head. "I didn't think that was a problem with the bubble-head charm."

Harry shrugged. "The two times I tried it my spells were weaker. I'm sure that's fine in an emergency, like what the bubble-head charm is usually used for, but not for an extended period of time."

Neville nodded. "Ah. Yeah, the bubble-head is usually used in case of fire or other emergency where air is a premium." Neville paused. "I've actually been doing some research into plant properties and might have found something that can help."

Neville pulled out a book and flipped open a page. "Gillyweed. Apparently water horticulturists have taken to use it when they are gathering plant samples in deep lakes or rivers. It's been used in potions for a while, but a few years back someone thought to try it out as a straight application, and the result was that they grew gills."

Harry pulled out one of the books he had on underwater creatures, and found the chapter on merpeople.

"Ah, here we go. 'Upon discovery of the mervillage, I was given access to a plant that would allow me to remain with the inhabitants without aide of a charm. The plant was a closely guarded secret, I would learn, but the opportunity to share their culture with the 'surface dwellers' was one that the leaders of the village were not wont to pass up.'" Harry flipped the book over to Neville.

"That must be gillyweed he's talking about!" Harry pointed at the rough sketch of the plant next to the paragraph on the history of the merpeople.

"That's it!" Neville exclaimed. "I wonder why people forgot this use of it until recently?"

Harry pointed at the next paragraphs. "Several years after this exploration, the merpeople had a change of heart and refused to communicate further with us. The cessation of relations between wizardfolk and the mervillage of Black Lake is well recorded, but the cause, until recently, was left as a mystery. Apparently people were going down there constantly and the mervillage was overwhelmed with wizards and witches. This particular usage was apparently forgotten, and suddenly this plant that was growing, and the common folk had no idea what it was for, exept to know that it was magical in nature and to prevent muggles from knowing anything about it's existence. The people who knew, such as my grandfather, were sworn to secrecy or had the knowledge of the true purpose of the plant erased from their memories. I myself was not even aware, until, upon his death bed, he bestowed upon me the journal of his travels from where the quotation above comes. Nowadays the only people who have contact with the various mervillages of the North are those who absolutely have to."

Neville blinked. "When was that book written?"

Harry flipped through to the printing date. "'1835. Limited Publication. 2 of 10.' I'm guessing Selwyn didn't want to violate his grandfather's trust, but wanted to preserve the information in case it ever became useful. Sirius sent me this copy from his family's library." He pulled a second book, this one more recognizable to Neville as an updated version of Magical Beasts.

"Even modern texts reference the vague information known about merpeople and none mention gillyweed. The early explorations in the late 1600s led to the discussion of how to classify them, and apparently that is what led to their refusal to continue to allow wizards to visit the villages, at least here in Britain. Scamander says that his investigations were mainly taken from merpeople from warmer climates, who were more friendly and open. The last documented communication with the merpeople in this area was back in the early 1800s. Everything else we know is from the early 1700s." Harry continued. "The merpeople of Britain are known to hide from contact with witches and wizards, only interacting when absolutely necessary or when responding to a threat to the village. Most of the time contact is accidental, and no knowledge is shared."

Neville understood completely. "Ah, that makes more sense. Anyone who knew about the uses beforehand is dead. Someone stumbling across the usage isn't exactly going down to visit merpeople. It's just a happy coincidence that someone else found the original use for gillyweed. I suppose that's also why the name is gillyweed but nobody ever really knew why except 'that's what it's always been called.' The information was banned. The average witch or wizard has no need for deep water exploration, and if they do they would use the bubblehead charm or some other bit of transfiguration."

Harry nodded. "Pretty much! I'm no good with plants, and I'm kind of ashamed that I didn't think to ask you earlier when I found this passage. I had no idea that plant was still around. I know gillyweed as a Potions ingredient, but I'd never seen that plant in the apothecary."

"How do I get some of this gillyweed? " Harry asked. "I doubt the powder I saw in the apothecary will work for the task."

Neville perked back up at that. "Well it's rarely sold whole. My cross-reference says that it's used in pneumonia potions, since the properties of the plant act to expel fluid from the lungs. The sources I read say that you won't grow gills if you use the powdered version, but I can order some for you, since it only grows under certain conditions."

Harry beamed. "That would be awesome! I could practice with it before the task!"

Neville smiled. "Sure. I'll go up and get my book and we can order a bunch. It's still not commonly used for gathering underwater plant samples, so there's not really a chart for how much to take."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, in that case we'd better get extra so I can play around with how much to take."

Neville smile grew wider. "Great! And you can tell me how it goes since I want to gather some underwater plants myself for the aquarium my Gran has agreed to get me. She's pretty happy that I'm taking Herbology so seriously, since experimental Herbology is pretty rare but pretty well respected among those in the know. I mentioned that I wanted to try out some of the underwater Herbology I've been reading about and she said that she would get me an aquarium for my birthday. I can gather my own plant samples to get it started!"

"Of course! That's pretty cool that you're studying plant hybrids and the like. I learned a bit about them when I used to live with the muggles and worked on Petunia's garden. It's probably even more difficult when you toss in magical plants with different properties." Harry replied.

Neville nodded. "It is. The wrong pairing can negate the magical properties you are trying to enhance. There's not a huge demand for hybrid plants since most magical plants are grown for Potions use and potioneers need to be able to rely on the properties of the plants they are adding so guarantee the expected result. I hope to eventually change that with the right hybrids that will guarantee improved results. Still, I'm interested in the field even if it's just becomes hobby. "

"Well that's pretty cool, Neville. I'm sure I can tell you what I learned about Muggle plants when we have time."

Neville smiled. "That would be great! Most of the books on non-magical plants that I have are probably outdated. Well, I'll leave you to your other work. I'll see if I can't get a rush order of gillyweed in by the weekend. When is the task?"

"I've got a month." Harry replied.

"Oh, so not a lot of time, considering classes and the like. I'll see how fast I can get that for you, Harry." Neville responded.

"Thanks!" Neville walked away and Harry shuffled the books he no longer needed off to the side and decided to focus on the underwater obstacles he might face.

Mid March

The final four weeks leading up to the task practially evaporated before Harry's eyes. Between practice sessions with the Slytherins, regular classes and his own swim practices he was exhausted. Still, as the task approached he felt more than prepared, especially after he worked out how much gillyweed to take based on how long the task would be. Neville was ecstatic at the chart Harry had provided, and Harry was more than willing to let Neville take the credit for developing it.

His last session with the Slytherins had been the Wednesday prior to the task. He'd dueled all three Slytherins, been quizzed to death on the various underwater creatures and plants he might encounter, and even spent some time in the Prefect bathroom showing off his skills with his head submerged. They came away satisfied, at last.

"Don't think this means we're going to let you go, Potter." Farley had warned. "Once you win this task there's still the final task to win. Our training will pick right back up, after we celebrate your win, of course."

Harry smiled at the memory. He found himself genuinely liking these Slytherins. They were hardcore, but they had evidently adopted him as one of their own, and he got to see a side to them that nobody else outside of the Slytherin house saw.

Now Harry was standing in his locker room underneath the wall that had been built around the Quidditch pitch. Each champion had been given their own place to change and group before the task was set to begin, and Harry was eternally thankful. The sounds of the crowd were fairly muted underneath the stands and the rock, and Harry supposed there were charms involved as well. He'd been able to change and prepare himself in peace.

Harry was rehearsing the basic spells he would need in his head, as well as making sure he had enough gillyweed for two hours in the secret pouch on his sleeve. He would leave the judges and the rest with the impression that he had modified the bubble-head charm. That was the safest bet.

The knock on the door slightly startled him, and soon Professor McGonagall was standing there, almost smiling.

"It's time, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you."

Harry walked out of the locker room and saw that indeed the rest of wall was a giant stadium surrounding a massive body of water. It was smaller than Black Lake, but far too large to be considered a mere pool. There were four diving platforms set up on separate quadrants, and he supposed his was the closest to him.

"Welcome Champions!" Ludo announced, and the crowd roared. Harry chanced looking around, and saw that there were a lot of banners. Even more surprising was the number of green banners cheering him on. He smiled and waved a bit before focusing back on the water's surface.

"Your task is to retrieve a collection of six items. Points will be awarded for time, correctly deciphering the clues to select the correct item, and accuracy. Your assistant will now hand you the first clue. All will eventually retrieve the same objects, but the order will be different for each champion. You will place your items in the pouch provided. Be warned! All is not what it seems. Please take your first clue."

Harry took the clue from McGonagall and read it.

"I thrive where it is cold.

Quite a sight to behold,

But under the lake I grow,

Where my beauty does not show,

Be careful not to get poled."

Harry thought carefully for a moment before tucking the clue under his other sleeve. He had an idea of what plant it could be. There was an underwater ice flower, which was a delicate white. They were just like underwater snowflakes. It was said to be one of the most beautiful flowers in existence. However it only grew under certain circumstances, one of which was that it required pollination by certain types of stinging rays to develop properly. Mature ice flowers were carnivorous and didn't develop any structure unless they were fed. Judging by the clue, there might be warm and cold zones in the water, so that would add to the difficulty of finding his first item.

"Prepare!"

Harry stepped onto the diving board, slipping his first dose of gillyweed into his mouth, and readying his wand to mimic casting the bubble head charm.

"Begin!"

Harry dove, and as soon as his head went below the surface he could feel that the water in his zone was comfortable, neither too warm nor too cold. He ate his gillyweed and began swimming while his gills grew in. Once he had adjusted to being under the surface, he swam forward trying to find where the water began getting colder. It only took him a minute once he recognized which direction he needed go by looking at the markers that separated the water. It was quite a fair bit of advanced runework, and he hardly understood what any of the runes meant, but he did recognize the one for temperature from his research, and saw that the mark before it decreased the temperature.

He smiled and was off swimming until he saw the telltale signs of stinging rays and freezing water. The rays and flowers thrived in near freezing water. They were vicious creatures, many parts were good for Potions, well, poisons really, but he wasn't supposed to know that tidbit. In any case they battled each other for dominance, and the local plant-life usually suffered. Except for the ice flower, which thrived from the bits of food and flesh all those battles produced. The flowers would not develop any sort of shape unless they were properly fed. Here he could see bits of a smaller ray that had obviously been on the losing end of such a battle. It was slowly floating to the top, but it was all he needed to see.

Harry began scanning the 'floor', which was mostly sand, and saw a particularly large specimen with a box next to it, obviously his next clue. There was a whole field, and they did indeed look like enlarged snowflakes scattered across the bottom of the lake. It was breathtaking. Just as Harry got closer, however, he felt something behind his back and swam to the left just in time to miss being skewered by a particularly large ray. He couldn't tell whether it was a male or female, but if there was a nest placed by he ran the risk of being attacked the whole way.

"Bombarda!" Harry cast, blasting the ray away. According to his research, they had incredibly thick skins. He knew he had probably only stunned the ray, but he did not have time to dawdle. He swam quckly, collecting the flower, putting a special charm around it to keep it from being damaged, and collecting the box that held his next clue.

"Around me, fields of fire,

Although my leaves you may admire

You might want a taste,

But that would be a waste

As the results would be dire"

Harry drew a blank for thirty seconds before another one of his lessons came back to him. Another underwater plant, this time highly toxic and poisonous if eaten had properties just like the one in this clue. It had an appearence simliar to an underwater plant collected for use in soups, with only the coloring seperating the edible plant from the poisonous one. It was usually found growing among Devil Urchin, which lived in certain parts of the Indian Ocean. The Urchin themselves had poisionous spines and dangerous magical creatures, spitting out little balls of poisonous fire, but once dispached and properly cleaned parts of it were supposedly edible. They got the poison from the plant in question. Both were used in dangerous, nearly undetectable poisons Farley had him read about. He couldn't quite remember the name of the plant itself, but he could picture it as clear as day.

Harry swam back towards the warmer water, once again thankful for the unorthodox training he'd had, since there were similar plants that grew surrounded by regular urchins that were as harmless as honey.

He found the plant in short order, with a tiny box suspended in a bubble above it. Several ice spells later he had both the box and enough of the plant to identify it. So far he had not encountered anything too dangerous, nothing he could not handle.

"Now native climes you may seek,

Past our defenses you must sneak,

Survive the test

Ignore the rest

And we might give you a peek"

Harry instantly knew he had to find the area that resembled Black Lake. He had been past an area that was similar to the bits he had seen in the one swim he had done, and so he went back to that area. He had yet to see any of the other champions, although that did not surprise him. He was on his third clue, and if all the champions had the same clues he supposed he would come across tells of the other champions eventually. Harry swam quickly, just in case, wondering what the clue could mean. It wasn't a plant this time, and Harry was quite glad of that.

Suddenly it hit him. Grindylows. He had to get past Grindylows. They were one of the most dangerous water creatures native to Britain. There would likely be a bit of a challenge. They could not speak, but perhaps there was a certain phrase that would keep them at bay as he swam past the habitat.

Harry soon came to where he could tell the Grindylows were. He could see the creatures hovering around, reaching towards him menacingly, but rows of electrified seaweed kept most of them at bay. He was still pondering the test when he saw a glowing box just on the other side of the path. He swam towards it and a voice began to creep into the back of his mind telling him he HAD to get that box, he needed it, he had to get it and open it and see what was inside. He barely registered that the Grindylows were getting excited as he got closer to the box when he was suddenly struck by how wrong the voice sounded.

"Open the box…. You need what's in the box! Open…"

"Shut UP!" Harry pushed the suggestions out of his mind and continued swimming past more and more of the glowing boxes that were whispering to him. Finally he found one that seemed, different somehow. He swam closer and was suddenly blindsided by a large weight to his left side. He turned in the water and saw a giant white thing with tentacles swimming towards him. A second attack threw him off guard again and he spun around to see a similar creature swimming to join his friend.

"Oh crap." Harry whispered as it readied another attack. He could already feel the stinging from the hits. They were Bloobers, and there were more where that those came from. They were poisonous, but only if they stung directly on the flesh. The first two had luckily missed any exposed flesh, but Harry doubted he would have similar luck on the next pass. Especially since they seemed ready to swarm the 'threat' to their territory.

"Eviscero!" Harry cast, shooting the curse at the largest of the three. It struck home, and the creature keened as inky black liquid surrounded it. The others swam harder towards him, ignoring their dying leader.

"Secare! Petrificus!" Harry cast the next two curses, slicing one and petrifying the other creatures. The sliced one would survive, it was already swimming off to heal his wounds. The third was as good as dead as well, turning into stone and dropping down to the sand.

Harry paid the fallen creatures no mind. He had clues to retrieve. He turned back to the box that had seemed calmer than the rest and swam up to it. The others were whispering again, but he ignored them for this one that was not calling out to him. He touched it and was rewarded with a warm feeling. He opened the box all the way, and found within a smaller box and a green rock. His next clue was inside as well, carved into the lid as the others had been. He took the rock and put it in his bag, ready for the last half of his clues.

"I look like I could take flight,

in the air I just might

find my treasure

for work or for leisure

but be wary of my bite"

Another sea creature, Harry surmised. Quickly working it out, he remembered reading about a fish that looked like a bird and acted a bit like a magpie in that it liked to collect shiny baubles that fell off of boats. They had razor sharp teeth and would defend their treasures from others, but were overall tiny and harmless unless they swarmed. However, Harry was back to an easy clue, so he was afraid that one of the other champions had already stirred up the nest, so to speak. He swam back towards the warmer water, searching for the coral that they thrived in. Finding it he saw that indeed there was a swarm swirling about over an area that had been disturbed. He swam faster, wondering how he was doing on time, and cast a bombardment hex at the school, stunning most of them before finding the box among all the other treasures that had been unearthed.

Harry sighed. His side still stung from the fight near the Grindylows against the Bloobers. Opening the box, he took out the small pouch from within and read the clue.

"You might see us under a rink

Drink from us and sink

If you steal our milk

And survive our silk

The results might be pretty pink"

Harry instantly started swimming towards the coldest part of the water again, having a good sense of what he was looking for. His next clue was sea spiders, but not just any old sea spider. His quarry was the source of a potion ingredient used for some dangerous potions. Again his study with the Slytherins had come in handy. The venom itself was pink, but turned clear under the right brewing circumstances. The information was actually probably common knowledge, since it had come out of the seventh year Defense book. However it was a clue he would never have been able to solve with his meager four years of education. There were lots of underwater creatures that secreted a milk-like substance that was dangerous to humans, but few that fit all the markers.

As he entered the colder water, he saw signs of different magical creatures that could fit the description, including a type of worm whose silk was collected to make beauty enhancement potions, according to Pucey. The only reason it came up was that the worm itself was harmless while the spider was decidedly not, and although the silk, or webs, looked smiliar there were tells that could certainly save his life, the silk of the worm was an iridescent pink while the spider's web would glow in a manner that Harry thought was more like a flourescent marker, at least from the pictures he'd seen. Harry thus ignored the softly shimmery web that had boxes underneath and began searching for the other type of web.

He found the lair of the giant Ice Spider quickly enough, and a few more well-placed hexes stunned her as he managed to find the box he needed without touching the thin filaments that was the web in question. The 'silk' was just as dangerous as the venom, since the spiders liked to coat the webs with venom to paralyze their prey before dinner. Again at this lair he noticed signs that someone else had been there. There was a second spider off in the distance that was split in half.

Harry opened the box and was rewarded with another trinket, this time a small vial filled with what looked like gold sand. He pocketed it and read his final clue.

"Where I live dangers roam,

in the underwater brome

there may be a snake

the ground might quake

oh, and best ignore avoid the gnomes"

Harry thought for a minute before lighting on the solution. On his swim to the first clue he passed by a creepy set of statues that he could swear were following him as he swam into the colder waters. Unlike most of the rest of the lake, if it could be called that, this area was fairly wide open. He swam as fast as he could, figuring that the others were probably on their last clue as well. He figured he'd been underneath the surface for at least thirty minutes, if his tiring limbs were anything to go by. Soon he exited what could only be described as a forest of seaweed and saw what looked like an underwater meadow. Dotted throughout were the pointy hats of stone gnome statues. Harry had no idea what types of enchantments were on them, but he swam over the area, keeping his eyes out for anything that might trigger an idea of what he was looking for.

"Snake…. Dangers… gnomes… " Harry mused to himself, completely unaware that the gnomes were moving.

Harry was stumped. "Only gnomes I know are the ones from the Weasley garden… That's it! There are snakes in a garden as well!"

Harry started scanning the area for anything that could be considered a garden. He was swimming towards a promising patch when he saw what looked like movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked and didn't see anything moving, but thought he saw movement out of the corner of his other eye.

"Ok. That's just creepy."

Harry turned around and swam up a bit, to try and get a better vantage point. When he did he saw gnomes were there DEFINITELY had not been gnomes before.

"Oh crap, they're moving." Harry swam up a bit higher, hoping that he was out of their reach, and scanned the area. He spotted the garden a few yards off, and swam as quickly as possible, suddenly highly aware of the sounds of scraping stone coming from behind him. He turned around just in time to miss a stone being thrown by a gnome, and saw the stone collide with the ground, turning the impact area pitch black.

"Not good! Not good at all!" Harry cast a barrier behind him, feeling the current push behind him. The deep thunks that followed told him he hit his mark. But still he pushed past the fatigue that was beginning to set in, casting bombardment spells in either direction of him, as whenever he wasn't directly looking at the gnomes they seemed to be getting closer.

Harry reached the garden and began searching for his last item. Most of the plants seemed harmless, but the 'dangers' part of the clue had him wary and observant. Finally he found a tangle of plants he recognized as a variant of Devils' Snare. While it would not choke him, it was still dangerous. Plus from his studies he knew that poisonous water snakes liked to hide from larger predators in the plant. Down below the plant he saw a box, his final one. He swam down beneath it, trying not to touch the plant. He retrieved the trinket, another stone, before turning around…

And being blindsided by one of the gnomes, which had survived his previous onslaught and plowed pointy head first into his side.

"Bombarda!" Harry shouted, blasting the gnome off of him, which was trying to claw his suit off.

Harry swam upwards, all his prizes in tow, but he felt so heavy, and his side ached and felt strange all at once. He touched his side and felt the gash where the gnome had pierced his suit. He looked at his hand, and the blood looked black. His hand was also turning a strange ashy color and felt heavy. He could barely move his fingers.

Harry swam up again, feeling heavier by the minute. He could barely move his left arm now, but he had to surface, the dots and impending darkness pushed him up. He had to reach the surface! The weight of his body felt like it was doubling every second he was under water, and even with the gillyweed still in effect breathing was becoming harder and harder.

There! The water was clearer now, he could hear the crowd cheering under the water.

His head broke the surface, and he quickly swam to the landing platform. He flopped out exhausted. His side still felt impossibly heavy even now that he was out of the water, but he managed to pull himself out all the way.

"And first to surface is Harry Potter!"

The roar was deafening. The whole stadium exploded with cheers. Harry looked around and waved the Madam Pomfrey over.

"Something…" He wheezed out, surprised that he was still having trouble breathing even though he was not swimming anymore.

Pomfrey looked down at his side and gasped. "Oh my!" She began pulling potions out of her bag, pouring a couple directly onto his wounds and one down his throat. Instantly the world became clearer and he could breathe again. She waved over an assistant who helped him sit up all the way and began casting spells at his injured sides.

"Second to surface is Viktor Krum!"

Harry looked over at Krum, who looked about as bad as he felt. There were scorch marks in his swimsuit and a deep gash in one of his shoulders.

"There, that should get you going. Madam Pomfrey will probably want to see you later in the infirmary for that side of yours." The assitant told him, as the nurse in question had gone on to help Krum.

Harry, who noticed that his gills had vanished took a deep breath. "Thanks."

The assistant helped him up and over to the booth where the judges were gathered. He sat in the chair, followed by Viktor who gave him an assessing look and merely nodded. They both watched to see who would surface third. Harry looked at the countdown clock, and saw that there were fifteen minutes left on the clock. He'd finished faster than he thought.

Ten minutes later Harry could see a shadow just under the water and Cedric quickly surfaced afterward.

"Third is Cedric Diggory!"

The stadium exploded again, cheering for the other Hogwarts Champion.

The stadium was quiet as the minutes ticked by, Fleur had been down underneath the water for quite some time. Then, with just under a minute to spare, she surfaced, and looked absolutely murderous.

"Fourth is Fleur Delacour!"

There were cheers again, mainly because Fleur had survived. She looked worse than any of them had looked and Madam Maxine had rushed over to her as soon as she finished surfacing on the landing platform. Once she was healed and dried off she was ushered over to the judges' table where Ludo stood up and waved.

"Now that the first part of the contest is over the second part begins! We shall see how accurate our contestants were with the clues given!"

Four trays appeared, and they were instructed to empty the contents of their bags into the trays. Harry emptied his, noting that he and Viktor both had the exact same objects. Fleur was only short one, but Cedric had more than six objects, and a couple of the ones Harry had found were missing from Cedric's tray.

The judges stood around, examining each tray and nodding. He hoped he had done well enough. It looked as though he had. They each wrote on a scorecard and handed the cards to Ludo. He beamed after reading all the cards and stepped back up to the podium.

"With a collection score of five out of six, a time bonus of five minutes, and an accuracy penalty of three, with a task score of 40, our fourth place champion for this task is Cedric Diggory!"

There was cheering, but not a lot. Being in fourth place was no picnic.

"With a collection score of five out of six, a time bonus of one minute, our third place champion, with a score of 51 for this task is Fleur Delacour."

There was more cheering now. Fleur smiled, beating Cedric would keep her overall score up going into the final task.

"With a perfect collection score of six out of six, a time bonus of ten minutes, and a perfect accuracy bonus, our second place champion, with a score of 80, is…." Ludo drew out the announcement, pushing the crowd to the edges of their seats.

"Viktor Krum!"

The stadium did explode then. There were cheers, deafening cheers, because that meant that Harry was in first place for the task, and possibly had edged into first for the final task.

"With a perfect collection score of six out of six, a time bonus of twenty, and a perfect accuracy bonus, our first place champion for this task, with a score of 90 is Harry Potter!"

The cheers were thunderous. Harry was almost afraid the stadium would not sustain the level of cheering and stomping on his behalf. He looked around and saw a sea of green flags, all waving. He waved towards them and the cheers grew louder, if it were at all possible.

"After three events! Our total scores are:

With 217, Cedric Diggory!

With 237, Fleur Delacour!

With 284, Viktor Krum!

With 285, Harry Potter!"

The cheers increased, and people began chanting his name. Harry wanted to blush with embarassment but instead remembered to be strong, not bashful, and held his head up high. Somebody wanted him in this tournament, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give it his best.

"Thank you all for attending. We hope to see you all again for the Final Task!" Bagman concluded, and Harry followed the other champions back down under the arena where he showered and changed.

He hoped he'd done his tutors proud.

It was so funny how the entire population of Hogwarts had changed its mind about him after his strong showing at the last task, but Harry found that he preferred the 'congratulations' whispers in the hallway to the glares and hisses he got beforehand. His mentors had indeed been proud of him, congratulating him on his win. As he had been allowed to keep the trinkets he collected, he supposed they would be useful in the final task. Pucey gave him a book about identifying Potions ingredients without labels, and that was basically his only clue.

The Equinox and Ostara were coming up, and Harry was surprised to find that, unlike years past, they would be given an extended weekend holiday to celebrate, beginning the Friday beforehand, and expected to return the Wednesday evening thereafter. Four days at home with his family after working so hard sounded like a dream come true, and Harry was excited to get some rest.

When Harry stepped out of the floo of Grimmuald Place he was assaulted by the familiar smells of Kreacher's cooking. In particular, Kreacher's pumpkin soup, which Harry found he particulalry liked. Sirius stood off to one side, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey pup! Good to see you made it out in once piece."

Harry nodded. Taking a soother before flooing helped keep him steady.

"Just so you know, Narcissa, Andi, Draco, Remus and Dora are coming over Tuesday. So it will be more than just us."

Harry smiled. "That's fun. I don't want to look stupid in front of them, so maybe a prep beforehand? I did all the reading about what I need to do but I've never actually done any of it before."

Sirius nodded. "Of course, we'll go over everything and make sure you're ready Sunday for the Day of Preparation on Monday. But in the meantime, you like Quiddich right?"

Harry laughed. "You're joking right?"

Sirius smiled mischeveiously. "Well I wanted to make sure that being a Hogwarts champion hadn't soured you to the sport."

"Of COURSE not!" The two made their way into the hall, where Harry dropped his duffel bag for later.

"Good. Becasue bright and early in the morning we have an appointment to visit the Pudd spring clinic."

Harry blinked. "SERIOUSLY?"

Sirius grinned. "Yep."

"Woohoo!" Harry shouted. It would be amazing to see what the new Puddlemore line would look like, and to see Oliver flying again.

"Well, we have to get out early so go get cleaned up and come back down for dinner. Kreacher made pumpkin soup and a roast, so there will be plenty of food to go around."

Harry nodded, going upstairs and changing out of his school robes into something much more casual. He was fully prepared to enjoy his time not having to worry about appearances, even if it was only a couple of days.

Neither Harry nor Sirius expected Narcissa and Draco on Sunday afternoon, but there they were, having flooed over from Malfoy Manor. Kreacher was bouncing and making another roast of some type, probably lamb, and Harry didn't exactly mind spending more time with his blonde cousins.

"Congratulations, Harry. Draco tells me you were very impressive in the last task." Narcissa smiled at him after tea had been poured.

"Thank you. I have been working with some sixth year Slytherins Draco introduced me to and they are an invaluable resource of guidance." Harry repsonded.

Narcissa smiled. Sirius was busy distracting Draco with a chess game and a discussion about Quiddich, and Narcissa thought this was her best chance to strike, so to speak."

"You know Lucius' background, correct?"

Harry glanced over to Draco and Sirius and nodded.

"Ron was very… vocal about how Lucius was a Death Eater and only got off from going to prison because he had money."

Narcissa sighed. "Lucius claimed to have been Imperiused into taking the mark and a lot of his actions as a Death Eater. While I am certain that he may have been forced into it by Abraxas I am certain that some of his… lapses in judgement are of his own doing."

"Lucius has been more active with the 'old crowd' lately, the others who were either never caught or who similarly escaped what the Ministry considered 'justice'." Narcissa continued.

"He has been having a few over for dinner and retiring to his private study for discussions lasting long into the night. Today, of all days, he planned such a dinner and when I objected he basially waved me off and told me that I neede to 'let him work for the betterment of all."' Narcissa scoffed.
"As if those people who are barely fit to share a bottle of wine from my cellars can contribute anything to the betterment of society."

Harry nodded. It sounded like trouble to him.

"Why tell me?" Harry asked.

"Because if my husband was willing to put a first year girl in danger just for political meanace, I would not hesitate to assume he would do worse to someone he assumes as his political rival, from his point of view."

Harry could see that logic. "Why not tell Sirius too?"

Narcissa smiled. "Oh I plan on having quite a long conversation with Sirius, his little friend Remus too, but it would have been awkward to exclude Draco in a conversation that literally everyone else in the room is having, and I don't want him to take anything back to his Father, no matter how strained their relationship is. Lucius still manages some control over Draco, as Draco does indeed want to be Lord Malfoy someday, if only to do a better job of it than the last two."

Harry nodded again. "I understand."

Narcissa pulled an object out of her robe pocket. "Put this on."

Harry took the small ring and put it on his left pinky. He trusted Narcissa not to harm him.

"It's an emergency portkey to my private library in case you are ever somewhere and need to escape. I've given Draco one as well. My sisters and I use to wear similar ones in case we ever got kidnapped. Should break through most any wards." Narcissa pulled out her wand and tapped it. The ring flashed blue and vanished.

"Its now keyed to your magic. Nobody else can take it off and if something happens to you that knocks you unconsious or blocks your magic from responding to the ring it will automatically activate. To activate it manually you just tap your finger to it and whisper Portus Domum."

"Thanks, Cissa." Harry whispered. Even after so long it still surprised him how caring his family could be.

"Of course. Now I want you to promise me that you'll contact Sirius if anything happens and you aren't sure who else to trust. After this summer, Lucius' increased activity has me worried and I can't help wanting to instill a little extra caution in you. Sirius is your guardian. You don't have to answer to ANYBODY, no matter who they are, without Sirius there, understand?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"I know we've been over it many times, but your first priority is your own safety and your education. If there is not an adult who is willing to take your concerns serioulsy and take action if you feel endangered then maybe Hogwarts does not deserve you. If you ever have questions about what you should do, or if you are being pressued to act without the sound advise of an adult who is soley in your corner you stay silent until you can talk to Sirius, and if he is not around know you can call on Andi and I as well. This whole business of forcing you into this tournament even though it is obvious that you did not enter yourself, combined with Lucius' behavour worries me."

"I will be careful. There haven't been any leads or new discoveries into how my name ended up coming out of the Goblet of Fire, so it suggests someone powerful enough to cover their tracks, or someone involved in the investigation is actually responsible for my forced participation. They've had three tasks so far that they could have used as an opportunity to permanently injure me. If the last task was any indication, the Final Task will involve a lot of features that could be used to injure me and have the blame fall on the contest itself, and not an individual."

Narcissa nodded. "Be extra careful then. Train harder than even you think is required, and if someone tries to sabotage you give them everything you've got. But if it comes down to saving your life and winning this fool Tournament, your life is more important. You don't need the gold, and you have more fame and glory running through your veins than a silly schoolyard title could ever give you. You are the future Lord Black, one of the oldest families to carry magic in their blood. These nouveau riche upstarts who fancy themselves your equal are but mere peons. Remember that. Your life, your safety is worth more than Albus of the Many Titles could ever offer you. No matter what he tells you, because, as Sirius can attest, he is good at the sale, but the delivery is sorely lacking. I shudder to think how many people Albus Dumbledore promised the world to only for them to end up in the family crypt."

Harry nodded, remembering all the times, even when he complained about the Dursleys, that Dumbledore could have done something and did not. He would not be fooled again.