A Helping Hand

Chapter 10

In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet. (For just a moment). And as Harry sank beneath the surface, as his vision slowly darkened, as he descended through the water, there was a strange, ethereal quiet in his head. He was dimly aware of the cold biting at him, dimly aware of his shoes filling with water, and also dimly aware of his newfound lack of need to breathe. For a person who had just been dumped into a lake, Harry was extraordinary calm, practically relaxed.

Harry gently descended in this state, falling peacefully until he softly landed at the bottom, his vision filled with greens and blues, but unable to see anything other than the seaweed, swaying in the current. The fog lifted from his mind, returning to a fully aware state but somehow he was still unaffected by the pressure or lack of oxygen. Sitting down, Harry realised this was the most relaxed he had been in days.

Unfortunately this relaxation was cut short when a dark tentacle scythed through the water. Understandably shocked, Harry dodged it, and using reflexes ingrained in him from countless hours of Quidditch practice, he managed to duck under it as it came round again. But he could not evade it a third time, the tentacle seized him round his ankles and dragged him along the bottom of the lake like a fisherman reeling in his catch. Harry was bumped along the lake bed, occasionally banging into a rock or getting some seaweed stuck in his face, needless to say it was an unpleasant experience. After around 5 minutes of this unpleasant travel Harry blacked out, the stress causing his previous state of relaxation to dissipate, and he finally lost consciousness.

When he came to, he was in a place similar to the clearing where he had first seen Gryffindor's tome. That's not to say the two places looked anything alike, the clearing was dominated by vivid greens and reds, whilst the location he now found himself in was an ethereal blue colour. Other than that, he could not see much, he spun back and forth but still could not identify why he had been brought to this place.

Then he looked up.

Swirling above him was a dark mass of tentacles, each one about fifty feet in length, one of them obviously being how he had been dragged here. The tentacles were dotted with dark white suckers, each about the size of a dinner plate, ready to clamp down on any bit of flesh. Harry nervously but in awe followed the tentacles to their centre, to a gaping maw filled with razor sharp teeth. Harry then looked upwards, and accidentally met the gaze of a pair of age-old, world weary eyes, their gaze cutting through the water like searchlights, their gaze filleting him like a fish. With no small amount of shock, Harry realised he was looking at the Giant Squid.

From amidst the swaying roots, Harry tried in vain to calm his beating heart, nervousness but also curiosity penetrating every fibre of his body. Almost before it became too much, before the tension overwhelmed him, Harry heard the Squid speak. Well he didn't speak exactly but somehow words reverberating in his mind like a bass drum.

"Child," the voice boomed, " You are the first human to lay eyes on me, to rouse me from my slumber in centuries, the first since that Lovecraft fool. He could barely comprehend my presence, for your same I hope your mind can withstand the strain. From the gibbering mess his thoughts were I picked out the word Cthulu. Address me as thus - though I have known other names, each as unworthy as the last in their failure to describe my majesty - and tell me your tale."

And so Harry did. He told the Squid everything from the very beginning, feeling it would not be wise to withhold any intonation. He told the Squid of his childhood, of the Dursleys and their abuse, of Voldemort and his nightmares. He told the Squid how he had been reintroduced to the wording world, if his mishaps in each of his first three years. Then, with pain evident in every syllable, he told the Squid of the Triwizard Tournament and his training, of his friend's betrayal and of the blocks overcome. He spoke until his voice was raw and ragged and died in his throat. He poured out his very heart and soul to the Squid and finished with his head bowed, lungs screaming for air they did not need. When he finished the Squid regarded him for several seconds. The only reactions he had shown were slight signs of happiness when he mentioned the harmony of the Centaurs, the Acromantula and the Goblins.

"Child your tale is long and tragic, but I have heard countless similar over the millennia in which I have imbued this land. Nevertheless I shall help you, granting you the strength you need to face down your enemies. Come forward and receive the Blessing of Magic, and know that I will assist you should your enemies overpower you. Come forth child and receive my Blessing."

Harry felt the connection being lifted from his mind and he cautiously swam forward, until he felt and tentacle being laid gently on top of his head. The Squid chanted in an unknown language and the water shook with the power of what was happening. Finally the Squid ripped away his tentacle and propelled Harry towards the surface. Harry burst into the air in a shower of spray and landed next to the tree under which he and his former friends had spent so many hours under. But it was different. Gently, he laid a hand on the bark, and he felt it hum with life, with magic. He realised this was the Blessing, he was at one with the nature and creatures of the magical world, in a way that no others had been. He let out a delighted laugh as several Bowtruckles scampered out of their hiding places and settled on his hand. Eventually, he made his way back to his tent, the Bowtruckles still flitting around him before falling into a long and peaceful sleep.

Harry awoke from his sleep many hours later, eagerly anticipating his first lesson with Aragog that was to come later in the evening. By some sort of unspoken agreement, Harry had had his time monopolized by the centaurs and Gryffindor's journal. But now the first task was only two weeks away, and he realised he still needed more to take on a dragon.

Yes, a dragon, and not just any dragon but a nesting mother! Harry had come onto this information through Hagrid who had all too eagerly led him to the Reserve campsite and hurried off to meet Madame Maxine. Whilst there, examining the dragons from a distance he had also caught sight of Karkaroff lurking in the shadows, so Viktor and Fleur were both privy to the information. He had debated telling Diggory, despite being an annoying arsehole who was his self-proclaimed 'enemy', he didn't want him dead. In the end, he had opted to send a paper plane with the information, much like the ones he'd heard about that were used in the Ministry. If Diggory decided to ignore it...well that wasn't Harry's problem.

Harry whittled away the hours of the day by further poring over Gryffindor's journal, no longer seeing the point of attending his classes. As dusk fell, Harry finally set the tone down, having taken every last bit of information possible from it. However this is in no way saying that he was anywhere near as strong as Godric Gryffindor, despite having near enough the same knowledge, Gryffindor had several decades of experience and practice over him. However, Harry was confident he was overall of more competent magic user than anyone else in the school bar Dumbledore. True, McGonagall would be better at Transfiguration and Flitwick his superior in Charms, but Harry was more balanced and had more raw power than either of them, and his skill was still growing.

Not needing the guidance of Hagrid anymore, Harry made his way to the clearing where Aragog and the Centaurs had first agreed to train him. But this journey into the heart of the Forest was different, whilst before the other creatures had simply silently avoided him, they now seemed to gravitate towards him. Unicorns and Gryffins followed in his wake, Bowtruckles once again entwining in his clothes and settling in his hand, fairies glowing softly as they hovered around his head, giving him a halo like effect. These creatures, pure but defenceless, had found their champion. Harry strode through the forest, a soft smile gracing his lips as he entered the clearing, taking a seat on a nearby tree stump to await the arrival of the Acromantula, absent-mindedly playing with the Bowtruckles while he say there patiently.

A/N: New chapter! Sorry for the long wait, I've just been finishing what had been a very hectic school year. In order to combat the inconsistency with my uploads, I have decided to create an update schedule! From now on there will be one chapter a week (at least) uploaded on Sunday evening. As always, vote and leave a comment, signing off!