Harry had been loaned gear again, a thin rod that he held in his mouth that took in water and shot out oxygen.
He wore a green swimsuit, his wand strapped to his forearm and gloves on his hands, a muggle waterproof watch on his wrist.
He stood next to Cedric and when the horn blew, he dove in, the magic activating and letting him breath, eyes changing to see perfectly.
He swam deep, using the stroke Andy had taught and headed towards the center of the lake, where he could hear singing.
A guardian revealed herself, Andy smiling at him and giving him a thumbs up from the cover of the seaweed.
Something shimmered near him and he paused to investigate, fishing it from the mud.
It was a bridle, woven of gold filament and left here...in...the lake.
Oh schist. Harry thought right before a great horse plowed into him, nearly knocking the bridle from his hand.
The kelpie turned, eyes glowing a silvery white and it's seaweed like mane drifting in the water.
And it charged.
Harry quickly spun the bridle, knowing it was his only hope to avoid becoming the water horse's next meal, breathing rod gripped tight in his teeth as the kelpie opened its mouth, reaching for his throat with pointed teeth that did not belong on a horse.
And then it stopped.
Harry used a wandless spell to clear the disturbed debris and let him see, the Kelpie calmly sitting still, the bridle on its face.
Slowly, Harry attached the bridle securely, reins appearing once the clips were fastened.
And they said this would be safe. Harry thought bitterly, and the kelpie nickered, as if to agree with him.
He swung himself up, seating himself bareback just like Skylar had taught him, wrapping one hand into the kelpie's mane and the other around the reins and gently kicked the water horse forward.
It slid through the water, far faster than Harry had been moving, and made its way to the mermaid village.
The merpeople started screeching in panic when the newly founded team appeared, calming when the Guardian seated near the hostages shouted something.
It was the Guardian who had told him the story of Perseus, green eyes glowing in the dark of the lake bottom, sitting calmly at the base of the large statue from which four people were tied with strands of seaweed.
One was Cho Chang, for Cedric obviously, the second Hermione Granger, who had gone to the Ball with Krum. The third was a little girl with the same silver hair as Fleur, who the Guardian seemed extra attentive to and the fourth was Ronald Weasley.
Instantly, Harry saw Dumbledore's hand in this and decided that he wasn't going to play by the Headmasters rules. He had been learning spite at Jazz's knee for over four months now and he knew now was the time.
The Guardian grinned as Harry dismounted, conjuring a knife and cutting the little girl loose, dragging her over to the Kelpie.
The Guardian was full out laughing as Harry hauled ass to the surface, the child held tightly to his chest as they surfaced, the girl gasping as she woke, little sparks flaring from her hands.
No wonder the Guardian had been watching her so closely. They had put a quarter veela, a little girl descended from fire and air, at the bottom of a lake.
The judges tittered nervously as the Kelpie stepped onto the shore, the crowd silent as he dismounted, helping "his" victim down.
"Wait!" He said, in a tone that told everyone he was bullshitting them. "You aren't little Adriana from number 5 Privet drive, Surrey!"
The girl looked confused. "Non, je m'appelle Gabrielle Delacour."
"Delacour? Fluer Delacour"
"Oui. Fleur est mon souer, monsieur."
Harry turned and shrugged to the judges. "Oh, well."
--------------
So apparently not only had Dumbeldore almost blown a gasket (Harry was aiming for a heart attack at this rate) but Harry was now in last place, dispite the fact that he had come back with a victim and a fucking kelpie with twenty miniutes to spare.
"This is an outrage!" Jazz yelled, still soaking wet from the lake to save Fluer from Grindylows. "She looks identical!"
The guardian next to Harry, one of the Stolls, was laughing so hard he had fallen over and was sprawled on the grass, and Annabeth herself looked amused.
"Did you see Gandalf the Graceless's face!?" The not sprawled on the grass Stoll yelled. "I thought he was gonna have a coronary and Will was gonna have to fix him!"
"Like hell!" Will yelled. "Let the wizards deal with him!"
"Oh!" Several guardians called out, Will refusing to heal anyone being a rather big deal.
Harry was grinning too. If he had given a schist about the tournament beyond surviving through it, this would have cheered him up but as it was it was really something to commiserate.
"Bets! Bets!" Travis started calling. "5 to one on a coronary! 3 to one on hair ripping! 10 to one public meltdown. 2 to one judicial proceedings."
Several Guardians fell over themselves, making Annabeth laugh, holding up coin pouches and wallets and various forms of currency Harry didn't recognize.
Harry tried to get in, wanting to put money down on a coronary (dream big and all) but Travis refused. "You're directly responsible for the outcome, kid. Make it a coronary, will ya?"
"Hey, Harry." Skylar called, having placed his bets, (judicial proceedings.) "What are you gonna name your new friend?"
Harry blanked. "Roach?" He offered hesitantly.
Skylar stared before bursting into loud laughter.
YOU ARE READING
Impartial Security
Fanfiction"Life has taught me that you can't control someone's loyalty. No matter how good you are to them, doesn't mean they will treat you the same. No matter how much they mean to you, doesn't mean they value you the same. Sometimes the people you love the...
