"That's odd, they should both be pointing the same way, at the lake," Cedric muttered as he repeated the pointing spell for the third time.
"Per'aps zis ees indication zat we must go separate ways, non? We are supposed to reach ze lake on our own, wizout 'elp."
"I guess, though it seems rather odd to force that," he replied. Fleur nodded in agreement.
"Zen I guess zis ees farewell for now. Merci, for your 'elp earlier. Zat eez two Champions I've 'ad now," she said with a giggle and a smile, giving him a wink, "You are a good man, Cedric Diggory, you weel make a lucky girl very 'appy one day. And you 'ave a really nice cock."
With that last comment, she giggled again and set off in her own direction. Cedric stared after her before continuing on his own, wondering who his own hostage could be and internally raging that the staff would even try this.
-=-=-=-
Sometime later, Cedric wasn't quite sure when, he heard footsteps approaching through the underbrush to his right and readied himself for an ambush, when the lumos spell he was using to light his way showed a familiar face.
"Harry?"
"Cedric? You alright?" his Gryffindor counterpart said, as he stepped out of the underbrush.
"I'm fine, are you?" the Hufflepuff replied.
"I'm alright, you wouldn't believe the night I've had." Harry huffed, tightening the fur coat he was wearing as he shivered.
"That bad?" Cedric asked as the two continued walking. Harry spent the next 10 minutes recounting the last 6 hours to him. Several times, Cedric cursed, spluttered or raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Then he recounted his own, rather uneventful trip through the forest, ending with the fight with the two trolls, and his encounter with a Harpy-form Fleur, which caught Harry's attention the most. However, he thankfully did not ask, and Cedric did not elaborate on how he managed to 'calm her down'.
"Hmm, any idea on the one who placed the bounty?" he speculated. Harry shrugged.
"My gut says Malfoy, since I just put his little shite of a spawn away for over a selenium. Then there's any number of people at the Ministry who back Skeeter."
Cedric chuckled, "Boy, you really must have pissed someone off in a past life."
Harry snorted, nodding, as he reached into the satchel and pulled out the flask and took a little sip, smiling a little as the warmth spread through him.
"You're really drinking cold water in this temperature?" Cedric asked, brow raised.
"It's not water, it's…uh…honey. Dryad Honey." Harry said with a blush.
Cedric blinked, recalling the vague mentions Harry had made to his encounter with the seven Dryads, he shook his head at his friend's Olympic amount of luck to have run into them, and more impressively, managed to negotiate a deal without actually getting fucked half to death.
"Hang on, that flask is full of Dryad Honey?" Cedric asked.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, one of the dryads filled it for me before she returned to her grove-sisters."
"You need to be careful with that stuff," Cedric warned.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Harry, Dryad Honey is one of the most powerful healing agents known, as strong as Phoenix Tears or Unicorn Blood and milk. It's also a key ingredient in Amoraestia, but in its raw form, it's highly addictive."
Harry quirked an eyebrow at that, "Well, I drank from all seven of them, for over an hour, I think, and I still haven't drained this flask, though the one who filled it warned me to drink it sparingly. I've never heard of that potion before. What is it?"
"Amoraestia? It's like Amortentia but a LOT stronger, but it's also sometimes known by another name, the "Essence of Himeros" and causes whoever drinks it to be overcome with pure lust for the target, rather than falling in love with them." Cedric paused and took a good look at Harry. "Hmm, either you have a really high tolerance to addictive substances, or her suggestion carried a lot of weight."
Harry mulled that over and checked his watch: 3:25 am. He couldn't believe it had been only 6 hours. It felt like a lot longer. He was about to say something when he heard something, and he raised a hand to stop Cedric, gesturing for him to be quiet as he moved forward through the trees.
"…bugger off! That bounty is mine!" a voice echoed through the trees. Both boys came to a halt and readied their wands.
"Piss off, arsewipe! Those Galleons are mine! You can 'ave one of the other Champions." Another voice echoed out. Both were male; one sounded like they were from London, with a heavy cockney accent, and the other seemed Irish.
"That Boun'y is only for Potter, you idiot! The others are worth nothin'!"
"Prick, I'll show you whose 'worth nothing'." Cedric growled to himself as he started forward, but Harry grabbed his arm and gave him a 'Seriously?' look.
"I'll haggle then!" the first voice replied as the two boys crouched low and moved forward, using disillusionment charms to stay hidden. Eventually, they saw the arguing pair, who had their wands drawn on each other, both looked ready to cast. Harry found himself silently hoping they'd take each other out.
"You s'upid wanker, you don' 'aggle' a boun'y!" the Londoner snapped, his accent coming through thickly. Harry couldn't help but smirk; he knew hearing that man's voice would have driven Vernon crazy. He hated the Cockney accent.
"Not like you're gonna have to worry since you won't be collecting on that bounty! Avada Kedavra!" the Irishman snarled.
The other man tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. The curse clipped his left shoulder, and he dropped limply as green tendrils arched over his body and his eyes glowed green for a second, before turning glassy and unfocused.
"Fuck…" Cedric muttered.
"Ideas?" Harry whispered.
"Stun him? Use my Portkey?"
"And if you need it later? Already used mine." Harry pointed out, Cedric snorted.
"Not planning to use mine," Cedric replied.
"So, Petrificus Totalus?" Harry suggested, Cedric shook his head.
"We do that, he won't be able to talk."
"No guarantee he would anyway, the last one didn't," Harry replied.
"Well, looks like that gold is as good as mine. 10,000 Galleons better be worth freezing my balls off," the hunter muttered as he turned away from his fallen opponent.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry whispered. The man grunted as the spell hit him, his body going rigid, his arms and legs snapping straight as he fell forward with a thud and a muffled groan.
Harry stood and walked out of the underbrush, keeping his wand trained on the prone form as Cedric followed behind him, looking more than a little frustrated.
"Incarcerous," thick chains shot from Harry's wand and wound around the prone form, coiling around him like a snake, complete with a padlock and iron ball. Harry stared at the chains in shock, as did Cedric, who turned to Harry and raised a questioning brow. The Gryffindor just shrugged helplessly. Harry knelt next to the body and with a grunt, rolled it over and looked down at the muddied face glaring back up at him with raw hatred.
"Hi! Heard you were looking for me. I trust you'll be a little more cooperative than the last one of you guys I ran into. So, here's the deal, I release the body bind, you start talking and answer our questions, then we send you back to Hogwarts, and you get to join your friend in the nice, dank, wet and cold dungeons. Okay?"
The man's eyes spoke more loudly than any words possibly could at that moment.
"Finite Petrificus Totalus,"
The man immediately began to thrash, but the heavy chains weighed him down.
"Oh, and, uh, in case you're thinking about Apparating or Portkeying out of here…" he turned to Cedric, "…you wouldn't happen to know the Anti-Disapparition or Anti-Portkey wards or charms, would you?"
"No."
"Well, looks like ya can't stop me from leavin' can ya you little shite!" the man snarled.
"Dobby!"
With a pop, the small, energetic House-elf appeared. "Harry Potter! Sir, you be needing Dobby?"
"I thought we couldn't call on the House-Elves for this Task?" Cedric asked, looking confused.
"We can't call for their help in completing the Task, or I would have asked Dobby for help getting out of that maze, but this isn't part of the Task; this is someone trying to interfere. And I want to know who," Harry growled. "Alright, mate, now I'll give you the same choices I gave Zhou: Start talking, or start screaming."
He caught Cedric's surprised, and slightly worried look out of the corner of his eye, even Dobby seemed a little put-out by that remark. The man's eyes widened just a little, but then narrowed.
"And how you plan on doing that, eh? The Cruciatus? You won't do it, you're the Boy-Who-Lived, you don't have it in you."
A scowl momentarily crossed Harry's face, "I don't need the Cruciatus curse, I can just do this. Ossifrango," he growled.
Several muffled, but definite snapping sounds could be heard as the man's forearm seemed to twitch on its own, and he started to writhe and scream.
"AAAAHHHH! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?! YOU LITTLE COCK-SUCKING FUCK!"
Cedric looked up at Harry, eyes widening as he took in Harry's neutral expression, and he began to reevaluate his opinions on Gryffindor's Golden Boy silently. Harry's delivery had been…cold. Harry was starting to show a bit of a vicious streak, and Cedric wasn't sure he liked it.
Even the House-elf had frozen, his eyes wide with shock, and a little bit of fear, as he looked at Harry, then back at the screaming, chained-up man.
"Now, talk," Harry growled.
"I dunno who offered the bounty! It was anonymous…all it said was to make sure you don't make it to the lake…" the man whimpered through gritted teeth.
"Ten thousand Galleons? That's what? Fifty Thousand Muggle Pounds. That's barely a year's wages for my Uncle." Harry muttered, "Though for that kind of money, I'd be tempted to turn myself in."
"How can it be anonymous? You must have instructions on where to deliver proof that you've got your target. What did they want? Harry's wand? And who would you know to present it to?" Cedric asked. The man just glared at him before answering.
"Suppose' t' deliver Potter's wand…to a contact in Knockturn Alley…as soon as one of us had bagged you, but I don't know who…"
Harry and Cedric exchanged looks, before Harry made a decision, with a wave of his wand, he vanished the bones in the man's whole arm. Their captive stopped groaning as the pain faded to a dull, few, sharp aches as he felt his arm deflate, he then turned and glared up at Harry again.
"Don't worry, a dose of Skele-Gro will fix that. Okay, Dobby, take him to the Headmaster, please."
The House-elf regarded Harry a little warily for a moment, before he placed a hand on the man and they both vanished with a pop.
"We didn't learn his name," Cedric muttered.
Harry shrugged, "That's for Dumbledore to worry about."
-=-
Dumbledore turned away from the giant screens as he saw the house-elf and the chained-up stranger vanish, then heard the distinctive pop of a House-elf Disapparating, and both the elf and the chained-up figure appeared before him. Almost every wand present was then drawn and aimed at the man.
"Dobby?" Dumbledore enquired, the little elf turned to look up at him, eyes wide.
"Please return to the spot you just left and collect this man's wand, as well as the wand and body of his…associate and bring them back to the Hospital Wing. They will need to be identified; however, do not disturb Harry or Cedric. Professor Moody, Professor Sharpe, would you please assist Madam Pomfrey with our latest…guest, and see to it he finds his way to the Hospital Wing?"
"What about Amelia? She'll want to know why she's being called back to the castle just over 5 hours after the first time," Sharpe pointed out, as he and Moody freed their prisoner from his chains and cast a body bind on him, then levitated him as Pomfrey ran her wand over his form, scowling at him the whole time.
"You're lucky I'm bound by an oath not to harm, or I'd personally remove your testicles, remove the bones in your legs, and not give you Skele-Gro!" the mediwitch growled at her new patient.
"I'll go and get Amelia myself," Dumbledore said, raising his arm, "Fawkes!"
-=-
Harry and Cedric had moved on from the spot where they'd encountered the two bounty hunters. Harry did his best to ignore Cedric's occasional glances in his direction. Finally, after catching at least the tenth glance his way, Harry decided he'd had enough, "Yes, Cedric? What is it?"
Cedric paused, and Harry did too.
"Look, Harry, are you okay? I've never seen you act like that before, you were so…" Cedric began, his expression worried and uncertain.
"Brutal? Cold? My recent experiences with life-and-death situations have taught me some harsh lessons, and I'm not just talking about that fight that stopped Draco and his goons from hurting my friends, and of course, fighting my way through that maze. If you're worried I'm going to start ending every fight by maiming my opponents, don't worry, I'll only resort to that if they're actually trying to murder me." He tried to give Cedric a reassuring smile, but the older boy didn't seem convinced.
He still looked worriedly at Harry from time to time as they continued to walk in silence. Harry took another sip from his flask, a bit larger this time, he paused as he swallowed the thick, sugary liquid, trying to do his best to ignore the fact that doing so not only restored his near permanent hard-on, which was very embarrassing in the company of his fellow Champion, but also gave him the impression that he should drink a little more, but Cedric's words stayed his hand.
When they paused for a break, Harry checked his watch, seeing it was almost 4 am, and after he and Cedric had had some berries, Cedric pulled a flask of his own that he'd conjured hours earlier, and filled it with water, he took a sip and sighed, emptying it, then refilled it with his wand.
"If you want to go on, Cedric, I'll be alright. I've made it this far, I think I can manage another 12 hours, which, if I'm right, is how long we've got," Harry said, giving Cedric a reassuring smile.
"You sure?" Cedric said, giving him a concerned look, "We're both exhausted, I think we're all going to be sleeping for at least a day after this."
"Yeah, I'm sure, you go on, I'll be fine," Harry replied. After a moment, Cedric nodded, before offering Harry his hand, which he took.
Once Cedric had turned and headed off into the forest, Harry leaned back against a tree, buried his face in his hands and let out a muffled groan.
His shoulders started to shake as he replayed what he'd done with the bounty hunter. He'd gone straight for causing pain, which went against everything he knew a Gryffindor stood for. Moody might have praised him, but he doubted anyone else would. Causing an injury like that during a fight to the death was one thing, but this? This had been an act of pure torture, as a means of interrogation, something more akin to what he'd expect from a Death Eater, not someone like him, or indeed himself.
Twice in one night he had inflicted grievous wounds on opponents that required medical attention to deal with, he'd done the same with Draco and his associates just two months prior, and he silently wondered, as a stray tear of self-loathing fell from one of his eyes as he pushed the goggles up to his forehead, massaging his face and temples with his hands as he silently wondered what else he'd either be forced, or worse, willing to do to complete this damn Task and free his lovers from the bottom of that lake.
He recalled what Cedric had said about encountering Fleur in her full Harpy form, and what she had said about it, and what could trigger it, and what they were like in that state, and he silently came to the conclusion she must have realised who her hostage was, just as he did in that moment, the only person it could be; her little sister Gabrielle. He remembered Fleur's explanation of the curse's history, and the history of the Veela, and their cousins, the Merpeople and the Sirens, and apparently, Dryads, which Fleur had not mentioned at the time.
He thought back to that story she told, and silently cursed when he remembered that, although Fleur had said that the Merpeople had been born from a union between Poseidon and a group of Veela, she hadn't elaborated further; instead, she had got sidetracked into discussing the curse, and none of them had thought to bring up the subject again.
"For her to go full Harpy upon just realising Gabrielle is in the lake…that must have been one serious falling out," he muttered. He hoped, for her sake, for Gabby's, and the other hostages, that the Merpeople abide by whatever terms the Headmaster had set when he'd likely negotiated their involvement. He wondered how much grief they'd given him once they realised they had to host a Veela, and not harm her.
He wished he could go back to the castle and curl up in bed with his four lovers embracing him, drown in their love and support, or even surrender fully to those Dryads he'd met only hours earlier, he'd happily surrender to their desires to mate him and use him like a breeding stud until he wasted away if the alternative was becoming something he did not like.
Sighing, he pulled the goggles back down over his eyes, another thing he couldn't wait to be finally rid of, and started walking again. He looked down at his watch, 4:30. He'd been sitting there only half an hour, and he was now freezing again, but at least he wasn't hungry or thirsty. The Dryad Honey was doing its job, though the temperature wasn't doing much for his current arousal state.
He paused suddenly, as if his inner sense of danger warned him; he felt as if he were being watched, stalked, hunted. Idly, he wondered if it was another pack of wolves; he didn't have Hagne here to help him this time, nor Sirius. He braced himself.
The sound of trees creaking and branches snapping caught his attention, and he turned, just in time to see a massive arachnid, easily the size of Hagrid's hut, climb over a slight rise and down towards him, hissing, its eight eyes locking on to him, showing a mixture of fury and hunger. It didn't look like Aragog, certainly not with the purple skin, almost complete lack of hair, and large, red eyes and clawed feet, though he counted only seven; one of its legs appeared to have been blown off just before the first 'knee'.
"Human!" it hissed, the tone of its voice betraying it as a female, likely a matriarch, "You can run no longer! I will have your life for the destruction you wrought upon my nest!"
'Oh, terrific,' Harry thought as he readied himself; clearly, Krum had forgotten to kill this thing before he left the nest.
"I'm not the one who destroyed your nest!" Harry yelled as he readied himself for a fight, going over what fire spells might work.
"Do you think I care?!" the giant arachnid hissed as she came closer, "One of your kind slaughtered my children! You may not be the one who did, but you are the only one here, so YOU will be the one to pay!" Then she lunged, rearing up on her back four legs and driving forward, her fangs coming down for his torso. Harry dived to the side, barely avoiding her. As he rolled, he pointed his wand at her, feeling that source of magic within him surge, and there was a clap of thunder, like there had been in the chamber with that giant statue he'd fought. A bolt of magic slammed into the creature, taking off another of her legs.
With a shriek of pain and rage, she backed up, allowing him to get his bearings and better prepare himself. He wasn't sure how many of those 'shots' he had in him, and he wasn't sure how many it would take to kill her. She reared up again, preparing another strike.
"Descendo!" he yelled as he backed up. With a crunch, the spider's body was slammed back down to the ground, and her head ended up buried in the dirt. Her legs flailed for a moment before she pulled herself free and hissed at him in rage.
"For that, I shall make your death slow, human!"
She then raised her head, and he jumped to the side as two streams of liquid shot at him, impacting the ground with a splat. He turned to look and saw that the liquid was already hardening into silk. Webbing, she'd just tried to trap him in her silk webbing. He honestly had no idea giant spiders could do that.
A silk-spitter? He didn't even know spiders could do that.
He tried to circle, get in her blind spot, but she turned to follow him and loosed another stream of silk, which he blocked with a shield. Then he fired off a Confringo, scoring a direct hit just above her head. She screamed and backed up, the blast taking a rather sizeable chunk out of her thorax, but not really setting her on fire as he'd hoped it would. Just how long had this thing been tracking Krum anyway? He and Krum had parted ways hours ago, so there was no way she would mistake his scent for Victor's, which meant she'd been following his scent, yet he hadn't been anywhere near her nest…so why?
"You've been tracking the one who killed your nest, then escaped you. He and I crossed paths hours ago, but then separated, yet you still followed me. Why?" Harry asked.
"Your scent is stronger," she hissed, her tone tinged with pain and rage, "You are stronger, your magic is stronger, you will make a good father for my next brood, and a good first meal for them."
"Wait…WHAT?!" Harry yelped as he processed what she'd just said, as she readied to strike again, so distracted was he that he didn't dodge her attack fast enough, and suddenly found himself covered in her silk as his back hit a tree, and several more jets hit him, sticking him in place. He began to struggle, trying to free his arm.
She advanced, her mandibles clicking, liquid dripping from her fangs as she approached, "Yeesss…I can smell the magic on you, within you. You are strong, your seed is strong, it will sire many, they will be numerous, and they will feast on your flesh, after I have my turn…"
"What the fuck…" Harry muttered, her words creeping him out in the worst possible way; she'd gone from wanting to kill him to wanting to fuck him in the span of only a few minutes of combat. He stared at her in disbelief, the sudden shift in her demeanour making no sense, then he remembered what the unicorn had done, even the Horntail, now that he thought about it, that dragon hadn't flashed her pussy at him accidentally, she'd deliberately raised her tail, so had the unicorn, and two of the foals in class had fed from Susan and Hermione, so it wasn't just him that magical beasts seemed to be suddenly interested in.
It was the curse, it was definitely affecting magical beasts he encountered; the dragon flashed him, the unicorn kissed and propositioned him, now the spider wanted to fuck him rather than eat him…
'What's next? I get hit on by centaurs or a fucking ghost?! If I don't get out of this quick, I'm going to end up a ghost…' he thought, as he continued to wiggle, struggling to aim his wand hand, which was strapped under the webbing.
"Are you ready?" she asked, her clicking fangs about two feet from him now, her red eyes burning with a mixture of hunger, residual pain, and anger.
"Go fuck a Basilisk," he snarled.
The spider hissed and recoiled, moving back several feet, "You dare speak of that Abomination?!"
'Oh yeah, that's right, spiders HATE Basilisks,' Harry smirked, "Yeah, I dare, what are you gonna do about it, huh, you six-legged freak?"
The spider hissed again and began to advance when, suddenly, the underbrush rustled and a distorted whine echoed through the air. A single beam of light suddenly shone on the spider, and Harry turned, just in time to see what looked like a car burst from the underbrush and barrel towards the arachnid. It took him a second to recognise the battered remains of what was once Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia, and from the look of it, its time in the forest had not been good to it.
One of its headlights was gone, it was missing the tyres on its front wheels, and from what he could see, its right back door was gone, its body plating was dented in so many places, the bonnet was bent about halfway along the plating, and the entire body looked rusted to all hell. The whine he heard was apparently all that remained of its horn.
The car's engine revved, somehow, as it slammed into the arachnid and started to push it along, away from him and towards a nearby tree. The spider shrieked again and began to struggle, her legs flailing as she tried to turn to engage the new attacker. Harry couldn't help but watch in wide-eyed fascination — and no small amount of relief — as the car pushed the giant spider towards the large tree, with a final burst of its damaged horn, it slammed the spider into the tree, then with a final whine that Harry got the distinct impression was directed at him, the car exploded.
The arachnid shrieked in agony as fire engulfed her. She tried to push the mass off her back, but it weighed about as much as she did. The fire quickly spreading over her was making her panic. The pain, coupled with the flames finding and entering the wound on her thorax, setting her internal tissues ablaze, was sending her into nervous shock, causing her limbs to flail randomly, no longer responding to her increasingly erratic instructions.
Finally, the spider's giant form fell limp as it continued to burn, and the tree soon caught as well, and Harry momentarily worried that a forest fire would break out. With a final grunt, he managed to aim his wand and muttered a few spells, quickly cutting away the webbing and freeing himself.
He staggered away from the tree, covering his nose to try to block out the sickening stench of burning flesh. Roasted spider smelled very unappetising.
After staring at the burning tree for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts, he raised his wand. He cast Aguamenti several times, spraying the tree with water, which hissed and quickly turned to steam. Still, eventually, he managed to put the fire out, leaving behind a smouldering tree, the incinerated carcass of the spider, and the burned wreck of the car.
Hoping he'd have no more trouble for a good while, he cast the compass charm again, and once more set off in the direction of the lake, going at a bit of a faster pace this time.
-=-=-=-
Several hours later, Harry stumbled through the underbrush again, once again feeling exhausted. He'd managed to stop himself from taking any more sips from that flask, still wary of what Cedric had said. He looked up and noticed that birds had started chirping. That was good; bird song usually only happened during the day or near dawn. He checked his watch: 8:10 am. The sun had risen about 40 minutes ago, and the trees were already filled with the sounds of singing birds. He'd also seen a few rabbits, hares, and even some deer running around; how he hadn't spotted the deer at night, he couldn't tell. He came across a stream and started walking along it. In the distance, maybe 10 miles away, he could make out the faint shape of Hogwarts, the homestretch.
He rounded a corner following the stream and froze. There, about 15 feet ahead of him, was a unicorn and a more miniature silver foal. They were both drinking from the stream when the adult looked up and saw him. Her head came up, and she snorted a warning, then paused and nickered, the younger one following suit.
Then he spotted it, the scar on the adult's neck, and his heart sank, "Oh no…not you again!" he moaned, rolling his eyes as the mare turned and approached him, her eyes alight with happiness and recognition as she nickered in greeting, dipping her head to press her soft, snuffling muzzle to his neck. With an awkward sigh, he brought his hands up to pet the mare as he looked at the younger equine, seeing that it too was a female, she hung back, giving him a wary look, he wasn't sure if he recognised her as one of the foals from class, but he honestly wouldn't be surprised at this point if she were.
Awkwardly, he started to pet the mare, who continued to press her nose into his neck, taking breaths of his scent for some reason. He locked gazes with her and saw the intelligence hidden within, the curiosity, and the excitement she clearly felt at seeing him again, so she clearly remembered him. Her ears flicked as she gave another gentle nicker and moved her muzzle away from his neck, then licked the side of his face, from his jaw to his hairline, her tongue momentarily catching on the goggles strap and his glasses arm under it.
Yep, she remembered him.
"Uh, thanks, glad to see you too," he muttered as the younger unicorn approached and extended her muzzle. He held out his hand, palm up, letting her sniff his fingers. After a few curious sniffs, she seemed satisfied, and he gently gave her nose a pet. She was kinda cute, if he was honest with himself.
And so was her mother, who was now giving him a curious look, eyeing the satchel on his shoulder.
"Nothing in there for you, either of you," he said, gently tapping the mare on the nose, "And before you even think about doing what you did in class the other week, please don't, I really don't want to test whether or not that vow I made to Hermione applies to you or not, because I'm honest not sure."
The mare just blinked at him.
Harry was about to turn away when he heard a distant scream that instantly made him freeze, his hair stood on end, and he immediately went on high alert, palming his wand again. He turned, tracking the sound of the scream when it came again, followed by another, higher-pitched one; they both sounded feminine and human.
"Point Me!" Harry snapped, his wand spinning on his hand before it stopped, pointing off to the right. He looked, noticing a branch of the stream heading in that direction. He took off running; the thump of hooves behind him told him the unicorns were following, though he didn't know why.
As the stream widened, he heard splashing, hissing, growls, the sounds of struggling and crying. After maybe 50 or so yards, he emerged from the trees as the stream widened into a small lake. On the opposite side were two young centaurs, both female; one was trying to shield the other, smaller one, as three Dugbogs sloshed through the water, hissing and growling, their long, sticky tongues hanging from their jaws.
"Stay back!" the elder Centauress yelled as she turned her back to the reptiles and started to usher her companion back. Harry watched, taking in the scene. He'd never met any female centaurs before, and he found himself wondering why they were away from the herd. Then he snapped out of his reverie.
'Focus, Potter!' raising his wand, he wracked his brain as he tried to remember what he knew about how to defend against an attacking Dugbog, something to do with their tongues…
As the two started to move out of the water onto the bank, one of the Dugbogs reared up, then threw its head forward, sending its long tongue shooting out, as did a second one.
"Levioso!" his spell struck one of the tongues, sending it upward, and lifting the creature it belonged to out of the water, leaving it suspended, dangling, this got the attention of the third Dugbog, which turned to face this new threat, but it also caught the attention of the two centaurs, who both turned at the sound of his yell, staring at him wide-eyed in shock. Unfortunately, this also meant they slowed, and the tongue Harry hadn't been able to stop hit its mark just as the elder Centauress swished her tail in panic, meaning that the tongue connected right under it.
She let out a scream of alarm as the creature began to pull her backwards. Her smaller companion came round the side and started punching the tongue, trying to knock it loose, but had no effect.
"Hold this," Harry said, taking the satchel off his shoulder and looping it over the elder unicorn's head as he reached in and pulled out the sword, then he turned and ran into the water, brandishing that and his wand. His first target was the Dugbog that had snagged the centaur. He quickly made his way towards the dangling Dugbog, and without any hesitation, he drove the sword into its exposed underbelly and dragged it down, opening the creature up like a piñata. He then turned and continued towards the Dugbog, where the Centauress was snagged.
Then he felt something impact his back and start to pull him backwards, making him stumble and fall into the ice-cold, silty and now bloody water. He wrestled as he went under, the two centaurs letting out a scream as he did, which quickly became muffled, and he realised the last Dugbog had snagged him with its tongue and was now pulling him back towards its open jaws.
Working quickly, Harry did what he could to slip out of the coat Sirius had conjured for him; he wrenched himself free of the garment, the cross-guard of his sword tearing the sleeve as he pulled it free, and he stood, shivering as water cascaded down his body. The Dugbog behind him chomped its jaws down on his coat.
He then turned back to the Dugbog that had the Centauress, and once he was close enough, swung the sword with all the strength his cold body could manage, ignoring the aching protest of his seizing muscles, as with a single downward stroke, he sliced cleanly through the tongue, spilling more blood into the water, and the creature fell backwards. Grunting with pain, both centaurs fell onto the bank, the eldest whimpering in shock. Harry looked to where what was left of the tongue was stuck, right below the Centauress's tail, right over her…he winced. From what he remembered about Dugbog tongues, removing that was going to hurt.
He turned to face the last reptile, just in time to have its tongue slam into his lower abdomen. Fortunately, it hit his trousers, but the impact was still enough to knock him off his feet and into the water, and then it started to pull him in.
"Relashio!" he snarled, the tongue peeled off his trousers, and as he stood, he glared at the reptile, before quickly turning his attention to the other one, which was apparently getting ready to throw its tongue at him as well, despite missing half of it. Clearly, any bleeding wounds they suffered clogged fast, unless they were fatal.
'Good thing I already killed one of them then,' he thought, he really didn't fancy his chances with two, let alone three. However, it seemed the one he had wounded realised the useful part of its tongue was now missing, so rather than try to lash at him, it instead charged. It barrelled through the water with surprising speed, he grunted as the wind was knocked out of him, and he was once again sent into the water, the air knocked from his lungs as the sword was knocked from his hand. Fortunately, he kept his grip on his wand. As the thing finished running him over, he winced as its claws left their marks on his stomach and chest, and just as his head broke the surface, he felt the other reptile's tongue hit him again.
This time, however, his head was pulled under, preventing him from casting, which forced him to use his free hand to push the waistband of his trousers just past his hips right as the Dugbog gave a hard tug, he quickly wrenched his feet free, causing him to lose his boots as well, as he stood in the knee deep water, now naked, as he glared at the creature that was now eating his clothing.
"Okay, now I'm mad," he growled.
He focused on the wounded Dugbog first, as it reared up and prepared to charge him again.
"Levioso! Bombarda!"
With a splash, the creature was lifted out of the air by what was left of its tongue. The bombard spell struck, and the lower half of the creature disappeared in a shower of gore, shattered bones and viscera. This got a yelp from the two centaurs and a whinny of panic from the two unicorns. He hated having to scare them, but he needed to end this fight.
That just left one more, he turned to face it just as it was getting ready to throw its tongue at him again, and he didn't have anything else he could lose to the thing.
"Levioso!" he snarled. The creature was soon dangling from its tongue, its underbelly exposed.
"Sectumsempra!"
The white cutting curse sliced open the Dugbog, far more effectively than his sword did; in fact, the spell also seemed to cut a lot deeper. The reptile thrashed uselessly as its internal organs spilt out into the water, but it didn't do so for long.
"Oh, by the great Pan!"
Harry looked behind him, his gaze meeting the wide-eyed, horrified gaze of the elder centaur, who had a hand firmly clasped over the eyes of her younger companion, and was desperately trying to turn her away.
He winced as he used his wand to Accio his sword, then he stepped out of the water, cautiously approaching them. The elder backed away, her eyes widening as they moved down to the sword, then flicked back up to his face, her own, a mask of terror.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," Harry said, turning to the unicorn mare, he beckoned her over, she approached, cautiously, her own daughter trailing behind her, eyeing him fearfully. Moving slowly so as not to startle her, Harry approached the mare and gently put the sword back in the satchel, then turned to the elder Centauress.
"There, see? It's gone, I wasn't going to use it on you, your friend or the unicorns."
The Centauress seemed to relax a little as Harry approached, his arms outstretched. He quickly placed his wand into the holster he was wearing, and he saw both of the centaurs relax more. Now, they were focused entirely on him; the elder no longer covering the younger filly's eyes.
"Here, let me help with that tongue," Harry said, quickly yet cautiously moving to the Centauress's right flank and drawing his wand again. He winced to himself when he saw exactly where it was lodged, right under her tail.
"Relashio."
The tongue dropped to the ground with a plop, but the female winced, letting out a yelp of pain as, as he had predicted, the small barbs on the tongue and the very sticky saliva pulled away a good portion of her fur. They pulled rather painfully on her flesh as well, though somehow, she managed to avoid losing any hair from her tail. He gave the area a very quick once-over before quickly moving back in front of her.
"There, it's gone, sorry that hurt a bit," he said awkwardly as he moved in front of her, "What's your name?"
"Carla," she said, sheepishly, her cheeks tinting dark pink as she looked him up and down for the first time, her eyes widening, a gasp escaping her as a smile tugged at her lips, and she giggled. He didn't need to look to know what she had seen, and to his chagrin, her younger companion looked as well, letting out a giggle of her own. And judging by the gentle nickering from the mare, she'd gotten an eyeful too.
"Our males usually don't enjoy fighting that much!" the younger one giggled, which made Harry's face heat up.
"Uh, sorry, can't really control that," he said awkwardly.
"Neither can our males!" the younger centaur tittered.
"Okay, let's get you ladies, uh, mares, out of here, and away from this mess, back to your herds."
Soon they were on the move, though Harry had no idea where the centaur camp was, or where the unicorn herd was, so he was wandering through the forest at this point, hoping this wouldn't take too long.
"So what were you two doing by that small lake? I didn't think females left the camp," Harry asked.
"We, we weren't supposed to, but my little sister said that we had to, that the stars had shown her a month ago, that something important was waiting for us out here, but all we found was three hungry dugbogs."
The unicorns both snorted and nickered. Carla turned to them and smiled, "You're right, we did meet him, and you."
"Wait, you understand unicorns?" Harry asked, and the two centaurs giggled.
"Of course! They are our cousins after all, all horses are, being children of Poseidon, after all — oops!"
"Shh!" the younger Centauress hushed her sister, whose face was now a mask of embarrassment and a little fear, Harry was momentarily confused, until he remembered what Fleur had said about how the Centaurs as a species had come to be, and that it was a secret not meant for outsiders like him, so he chose to ignore the slip for her sake.
"And what's your name, then, young one?" He asked the younger centaur, who was about to respond, when the sound of thudding hooves rapidly approaching, then an adult centaur, another female, rounded the corner ahead of them and came to an abrupt stop, her face an expression of worry.
"Carla, Kiara, what are you doing out here? You know mares are not permitted to leave the camp!"
"Kiara said we should be here; she told me she saw it in the stars, that we would find something important here. She was right." Carla replied.
Harry shifted uncertainly as the adult's gaze fell on him and turned both inquisitive and cautious. He saw surprise momentarily cross her features as she took him in, her eyes widening ever so slightly before narrowing as they moved down over his body. Her gaze then came back up to his face, then flicked up a bit, then to the side as he sensed the two unicorns now standing at his side.
The unicorns both snorted and whinnied, well, the adult did more than the filly, but the elder centauress definitely took note of what she was apparently 'saying'.
"I see," she said, her tone somewhat amused, "Hmm, it seems Celestia here wishes to join your herd, along with her daughter, Twilight. You must have really made an impression on her."
"Wait, she what? But I…I don't have a herd… well, there's Luna, Hermione, Daphne and Susan, they're my partners, my girlfriends…lovers, we're a group, yes, but I wouldn't say we're a herd." Harry protested, his face flushing as he looked between the adult Centauress and the unicorn mare, who was looking at him rather strangely.
"You might have a different name for it, but you do have a herd, and Celestia, along with her daughter, wishes to join, as it seems you have indeed left an excellent impression on her," the Centauress replied. She eyed him for a moment, her gaze lingering on his anatomy a couple of seconds longer than he felt comfortable, her lips tugging up in a slight smile, before she leaned forward and sniffed the air, her eyes widening a little. The adult unicorn snorted, huffed a few times, making several vocalisations, which the adult centaur paid close attention to, before turning back to Harry and giving him another smile, and to his surprise, she pulled her shoulders back and thrust out her chest.
Harry, for his part, felt very uncomfortable. Being naked around the unicorns and juvenile centaurs, and having the eldest make a move on him was one thing, but their mother too? Did every female in this forest want to fuck him lately or something? He also couldn't help but notice the older centaur's rather impressive breasts.
Her eldest was about his height, and her breasts were modest, closer to Hermione's in size. Her younger sister looked about Luna's age, if not a few years younger, and her chest was relatively flat, her breasts only just starting to bud. Still, their mother, at least, he assumed she was their mother, was closer to the dryads in terms of size and proportions, her breasts more voluptuous, large and firm, each capped by dark pink nipples and areola, like those of the dryads; they seemed to defy gravity, and he couldn't help but steel glances, his cock involuntarily twitching, which to his chagrin, all three centaurs noticed.
"You will come with us, Harry Potter. You two are welcome also," she said, the latter part of her statement aimed at the two unicorns.
"Uh, sure, um, what's your name?" Harry asked the adult as she turned until her right side faced him, then she lowered herself, gesturing for him to climb on her back. He noticed then that she didn't have a quiver full of arrows, nor a bow.
"My name is Hylonome. Thank you for rescuing my daughters."
-=-=-
Harry wiggled his hips a little, trying to get comfortable on Hylonome's back. It felt strange riding on the back of the Centauress, as the last time he'd been on the back of something this large had been Buckbeak the previous year and Firenze his first year. And in both of those situations, he'd been wearing clothes; now he wasn't. He felt cold, exposed, and entirely too self-conscious of the erection pressing into the centaur's back, which he was sure she could definitely feel, and both her daughters and the unicorns still stole glances at him when they thought he wasn't looking.
He found it rather odd that the unicorn mare was interested in him, then again, given her past actions with him, he mused it shouldn't be, she seemed obsessed with him for some reason, and the two young centaurs he noticed, made no attempts to cover their chests, if anything, Carla appeared to encourage his gazing when she caught him looking, giggling and blushing each time, which didn't help his current…stance, to any degree.
He kept his hands firmly on Hylonome's waist, feeling the firm and powerful muscles under her skin where the thick fur of her equine half gave way to a light dusting of short fur that covered her upper torso. Idly, he wondered how long they would travel for, and how she stayed warm in the winter months. He was hungry and exhausted, especially after fighting the Dugbogs. He was so distracted that he didn't notice Hylonome taking hold of his hands and bringing them up to her full naked breasts, his fingers reflectively squeezing the mounds of warm flesh as her nipples started to press into his palms as they hardened, and he could have sworn he heard her sigh, which was when he realised where his hands actually were, he tried to pull away, but a quite, almost imperceptible "No," stopped him.
His mind whirled at the possible implications, this adult Centauress was not only letting him hold her rather magnificent boobs, but also not letting him release them, but…why? He decided he was too tired to ponder on it fully, he'd think about it later, once this damn day was over, and he was back in bed with his four lovers, and boy, did he have a story to tell them! He just hoped they'd be understanding of his situation.
-=-=-
Harry wasn't sure how long they travelled for. Still, eventually the sound of activity reached his ears through the trees, and Hylonome paused, allowing his hands to fall from her breasts as she lowered herself and gestured for him to dismount, "If the others see you on my back, it would greatly offend them."
He understood, he remembered the barbs thrown at Firenze back in his first year that night when the other centaurs had seen him riding on Firenze's back.
As the camp came into view, and they approached, they were quickly spotted, and all activity around the camp ceased, many of the males drawing their bows and knocking arrows, but not drawing them, yet.
The one Harry recognised as Bane stepped forward, his nostrils flaring in challenge as his suspicious eyes pinned Harry; that suspicion turned to surprise as he took in Harry's current state, then turned to indicate.
"Hylonome! What is the meaning of this? You bring a human here to our camp? You know, Hagrid and Dumbledore are the only ones whose presence here we tolerate. Barely."
"He saved my daughters' lives, risking his own in the process, at great cost to himself," Hylonome replied firmly, fixing Bane with a glare of her own.
"He does not seem injured to me," Bane said, eyeing Harry's naked state with a look of disgust. "He cannot stay here; we were told not to interfere with their Trial that they are supposed to be doing today, which means he is not supposed to be here."
"We can provide him provisions and direction, and should he wish it, some basic attire, but Bane is correct, he cannot stay, and we cannot escort him further," another of the male centaurs spoke up, one Harry did not recognise.
"And why exactly were the two of you outside the camp? You know it is forbidden!" Bane snapped. The two young females flinched back, and Harry moved to stand between them and Bane. This might be an internal centaur matter, but he wasn't about to let two young girls get bullied, especially by someone with apparent anger issues. Bane's eyes snapped up to Harry, and they hardened again, his lips curling in a snarl, "Stay out of this, boy."
"We were there because the Stars ordained it!" Kiara spoke up, stepping around Harry to glare back at Bane, who looked at her in surprise, her words causing the other centaurs to shuffle and murmur.
"What? Explain!" Bane snapped.
"Several months ago, the stars showed me that something important would happen, something important that concerned me and my sister's future, but only if we were in that spot, at that time, though I did not know the exact time until last night, when the stars revealed the exact time and place to me."
"Nearly getting eaten by Dugbogs was important to your future?" Harry asked incredulously.
"No, meeting you was," Kiara replied.
"This is outrageous! Clearly, the young filly needs to work on her interpretations," Bane snapped. "Do you really expect us to believe your meeting this boy at that spot was meant to happen?"
"We cannot know for sure, but what is done is done. Now it is time for Harry Potter to continue his journey. The stars say many things, and not all of them are immediately clear, but I have seen several changes coming to his life in the near future. Many new friends to be gained, lost loved ones returned, but also new and old enemies, and even some friends may be lost. There are challenging times ahead for you, Harry Potter, but you will have those who will support you," Firenze said, before he headed deeper into the camp.
He soon returned, holding a small bag and what appeared to be a rabbit-skin pouch.
"Harry Potter, in thanks for your help rescuing Carla and her sister from those Dugbogs, here is some fruit and fresh water for your journey through the forest."
As Firenze stepped back, Harry nodded in thanks. Before he could turn to leave, however, Carla approached him. She mumbled her thanks before placing her hands on his bare chest, her warm palms covering his nipples as she gently started massaging them, her expression nervous, yet, almost…hopeful? Harry just stood there, embarrassed, unsure what to do, surrounded by the centaur herd, several of whom gave rather surprised snorts at her actions.
"Foolish filly! You cannot be serious! He does not understand our ways!" One of the males Harry didn't recognise called out.
Without thinking, he brought his own hands up to cup her modest breasts, his palms over her nipples. The look of hopefulness on her rather cute face turned to one of surprise, worrying him. Had he just made a mistake? That worry quickly turned to confusion when the look of surprise gave way to one of excitement and joy, and she smiled beautifully, then nodded, her face flushing as she continued to massage his chest gently. He, somewhat awkwardly, started to do the same, which only seemed to make her happier.
There were snorts and rumblings from the surrounding herd, and Harry wondered if he'd done something wrong, so he quickly let go, but Carla didn't seem offended; if anything, she seemed ecstatic. He cast a quick look at her mother, who was eyeing him critically, then gave her eldest daughter a look before looking back at him and giving him a respectful nod and a slight smile, then turning and guiding both of her daughters away. Carla and Kiara both looked back, smiled at him, and waved.
He didn't miss the rather blatant flagging of Carla's tail as she walked, but he quickly looked away and instead turned his attention to Firenze, who eyed the retreating fillies curiously.
"What just happened?" Harry asked as Firenze gave him an odd look he couldn't place.
"Something…most unusual and unprecedented. But I do not believe it is anything you need to concern yourself with right now, Harry Potter; it is a Centaur matter, and we will try to resolve it as best we can. The next few days should be most interesting."
Firenze then looked up at the sky, then looked back at Harry, before turning to the unicorns.
"Carla was not wrong in her interpretation…the stars did foretell of many unprecedented things happening lately, several months ago. Your saving Carla and Kiara was not entirely unforeseen, nor was your meeting with the Dryads, but what Carla did was not foreseen. It seems the Fates have smiled upon you, Harry Potter."
Harry didn't feel like it. He also felt rather exposed, the chill of the morning air making him shiver.
"When did you and Kiara have these 'visions'?" Harry asked, Firenze scratched his chin, thinking.
"I cannot say for Kiara, but I first gleaned what the stars were foretelling the night you returned to the school. Then, more details on the night of what you call All Hallows' Eve, were revealed to me, and then the final, most clear foretelling, was 16 nights after that."
"Halloween? That was the night my name came out of that damn goblet, wait, two weeks after that?" Harry asked, and Firenze nodded.
"Indeed,"
Harry froze. November 16th? That would have been the night before Draco cursed him and Hermione…that meant Firenze knew ahead of time…he'd known at least a hint of what was coming a full 2 months ahead of time…
"You knew what was going to happen? Why didn't you warn us? Did you know my name was going to come out of the Goblet?" Harry asked evenly.
"Nothing so precise, only that many things about your life were about to shift, over the coming months. Your entry into this Tournament of yours may still have happened either way. It is not within our nature to try to avoid what the stars ordain; trying to do so more often than not leads to disaster. But consider this: if I had warned you and you had changed the outcome that day, would you still have the support you have now? The close circle of friends? The future members of your support base, whom you have met and fought beside last night and this dawn?"
Harry thought hard, and the realisation came to him, that no, if he had avoided Draco's curse that day, by striking first, then there was a strong possibility, no, a certainty, that Hermione, Luna, Susan and Daphne would not be by his side now, and Draco likely would not have ended up getting arrested, likely neither would Snape, and the abuse of the Slytherin girls would have likely continued.
"You're right, things probably would have been a lot worse," he said, Firenze smiled knowingly.
"Do not lament the changes that have happened in your life, or those yet to occur; instead, embrace them, both good and ill, you will only be stronger for it. Your herd is growing, Harry Potter, protect it, nurture it and those within it, no matter who or what they may be. Now I believe we have kept you long enough; it is time for you to continue your journey. Celestia and her daughter, Twilight, will accompany you the rest of the way. Good luck to you, Harry Potter," the centaur said, gesturing to the two unicorns, before he turned and left. Harry turned and approached the mare, wondering just how he was going to get on her back, when she gently lowered herself down to her knees, and let him climb on, the supplies Firenze had given him secure in his satchel.