The Power He Knows Not Chapter 24

Content Warnings: Nothing.

“I can’t believe we just did that,” Hermione whispered, staring up at the unremarkable stone ceiling above Harry’s bed. She was naked and on top of her best friend, his large arm lazily wrapped over her petite body.

Harry’s other arm lay protectively around Padma, who was pressed into their side and fast asleep, knackered by the events of the Yule Ball.

“I…” For once, Harry was at a complete loss for words. He was in bed with two women, one his best friend and the other his other (now ex) best friend’s date to the Yule Ball. He doubted even Skeeter could come up with an ending that absurd for the night he’d had. “Why’d you come up here tonight?” Harry asked, shifting to a more comfortable position.

Hermione groaned as his cock, still deep in her belly, brushed against her sore walls. “I… I came to say goodnight. And I thought yelling at Ron some more would help me feel better about the crap he gave Viktor tonight.”

Harry’s eyes widened. When Hermione strode over to his bed to kiss him in the middle of her yelling match with Ron, his brain had short-circuited. They hadn’t even considered shutting the curtains before they were both ripping each other’s clothes off, and it had been Padma who had hastily closed the curtains and sealed them with a charm before a shocked Ron could react. Consumed by sheer happiness and overwhelming lust, Viktor had been the furthest thing on his mind. “I am so sorry,” Harry groaned, suddenly panicking. “I didn’t… shit, I’ve… Viktor…”

Hermione giggled and leaned up to kiss his jaw. “We’re just friends, Harry,” she murmured, grabbing his wrist to shift his hand to her firm breast. She moaned quietly as he began to roll her stiff nipple between his fingers, another trickle of arousal seeping out of her pussy. Despite her body's protestations, she was quite ready for round two. “He has a girlfriend. Katarina Karkaroff. She hates her father but they can’t date publicly until they finish their last year at Durmstrang, so we went to the Ball as friends. I was going to be his cover story while they met in the greenhouses in secret, that is, until Ron blew it all up with his usual penchant for overreacting and making a mess.”

“Hmm.” Harry was trying his damndest not to leave the comfort and warmth of his bed and his two gorgeous girlfriends, but the idea of just flinging his idiot friend out the window was growing more and more appealing by the minute. “And the kiss?” Harry asked softly.

“Well, Ron kept yelling how I was a loose woman and had cheated on you…” Hermione snorted. “As if he has any right to say that. Still, something in me snapped when he said I never had any real feelings for you,” Hermione admitted quietly. “I-” She took a deep breath, steeling herself. “I always have. Then you got with Susan and then with Daphne and then with Gabrielle ‘I’m literally an Angel’ Delacour. No way I could compete with girls like that. So I convinced myself I didn’t really have feelings for you. I believed it too. Even developed a tiny crush on a girl these past couple of months. We’d uh… we’d study together while Viktor and Katarina snogged in the corner. And then I saw you today and all those feelings came back with a vengeance and I was basically a bloody mess,” Hermione admitted, twisting to hide her face in Harry’s firm chest. The warmth radiating from his tanned, scarred skin gave her the courage to continue. “I asked Viktor what to do during the Ball and he told me to kiss you. Said it’ll help give me clarity. I just, well, I was going to do it in better circumstances than how it really happened, but I don’t regret it. Do you?” she asked, her voice uncharacteristically shy and nervous.

“Kissing you?”

“The whole thing,” Hermione whispered. “Kissing me. Sleeping with me.” Loving me, she added in her mind.

“Hermione Granger.” Harry grabbed her arms and pulled her up, letting her nestle her face in the crook of his shoulder. “I am beginning to think we were meant to be ever since you offered to fix my glasses all those years ago…”

---

“Where’s Hermione?”

“Harry, listen to me,” Susan murmured, cupping her boyfriend’s cheeks. “Everything’s going to be fine. Gabrielle’s probably doing something wildly against the rules for Fleur-” They glanced over to the Beauxbaton’s champion. Fleur was standing some distance away from them, locked in an embrace with Alicia who was gently caressing her long blonde hair and whispering reassurances while peppering her forehead with kisses. “And I’m pretty sure Hermione is making sure the fact that we turned our Potions Professor’s private storeroom upside down last night and stole one of the costliest ingredients from it won’t be traced back to us,” Susan lied. In reality, neither she nor Daphne had run into Hermione since they parted ways after their little heist the night before. But she presumed Hermione would want their boyfriend just as calm and focused as they did, and wouldn’t mind the white lie.

Harry glanced over at Neville, who was nervously chewing on his nails. Hannah gently rubbed his arm, while his spacey friend… Luna something, simply smiled serenely at him. “You’re sure this is going to work mate?” he asked, glancing at the slimy weed Susan had discreetly pressed into his hand.

“Yes. It’s Gillyweed.” Neville nodded nervously. “I mean… it should. It’s used as an antidote for Talafsa poison but it also gives you gills while its effects last. Gills help you breathe underwater, right?”

“Yes, darling. They do,” Hannah whispered, kissing his cheek. Neville blushed hard and went back to chewing his nails. “I’m sorry I couldn’t grow some in the greenhouse. Luna and I tried our best.”

“It’s difficult to grow in the best of conditions, Nev,” Susan said, giving her friend a kind smile. “You know that. And you were already working on a timetable with limited tools. You did your best. I just hope this weed is fresh.” She glanced at the slimy substance in Harry’s hand. “As it ages the duration for which its effects last lessens and we need it to last at least an hour.”

“It’ll be alright,” Harry murmured, putting on a brave face for his friends and girlfriend. He ignored his heart hammering in his chest and shoved the slimy ball in his mouth, making a face as he chewed the disgusting weed.

Susan waited for him to swallow before pressing her lips against his in a passionate, desperate kiss. She moaned quietly as Harry deepened the kiss, gently cupping her cheeks as he plundered her mouth with his tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck, unwilling, unable to pull away.

“Champions to the starting line,” an annoyed voice said from behind them.

Susan pulled away with great reluctance, glaring at the redhead who was poking Harry’s shoulder impatiently with his wand. “This was from all of us, okay, love? For luck,” she whispered, resting her forehead against Harry’s. “We’ll be right in the front row. Padma and Daphne are holding seats for all of us. At the first sign of trouble every single one of us is going to jump in that lake, rules be damned,” she murmured, leaning in for another quick kiss. She finally pulled away from Harry after another impatient cough from Percy, giving the man one last glare before making the trek up to the stands with Neville, Hannah, and Luna.

“Hey Perce, where’s Mister Crouch?” Harry asked, letting the man lead him to his starting spot.

“He is sick. I’m filling in for him today,” Percy said, his voice trembling with pride. He slapped his own chest with the clipboard in his hands as if to congratulate himself before retreating to join the other judges.

Harry frowned. Skipping out on a Ball the man probably found detestable was one thing, but he seriously doubted Barty Crouch was the sort of man who would miss out on the power and attention that came with being a judge in the Tournament. Something was fishy, but he was prevented from mulling over it by a familiar voice breaking him out of his reverie.

“Hi,” Fleur said, sounding just as nervous as he felt. She was stripping down to her swimsuit next to him and Harry copied her actions, knowing he had just a few minutes to get ready before the Task started.

“Fleur,” Harry murmured, giving the older girl a respectful nod. She and Alicia had become much like older sisters to him ever since he’d started dating Gabrielle, and he’d come to appreciate the drive, determination, and talent the Veela possessed. “You ready?” he asked, stripping down to his swimming trunks. His wand was already safely tucked inside it, charmed by Daphne to ensure it wouldn’t accidentally fall out in the water.

Fleur nodded and tightened her hold on her wand. “I just wish Gabby came down here to wish me luck. She’s my lucky charm,” Fleur admitted, before teasing him to cover up her own nervousness, “but I suppose she has no time for her sister now that she has Harry Potter. She’s going to be terribly upset when she wakes up in an empty bed and realizes you’ve left.”

Harry frowned. “Gabrielle wasn’t with me last night, Fleur. She’s been complaining about you, as a Veela having to spend an hour in the lake the entire week. I thought she was helping you with some uh…” Harry coughed, “unconventional ways to complete the Task.”

“I haven’t seen Gabby since dinner last night, Harry. I thought she was spending the night with you,” Fleur said softly.

Harry’s eyes widened. “The thing most precious to you,” he whispered, suddenly understanding why Hermione and Gabrielle were missing, and what they were supposed to seek under the lake.

“Mon Dieu!” Fleur cottoned on within seconds, her eyes growing to the size of pennies in alarm. “Th-They… They put a Veela underwater for hours? Gabby… Gabby’s in there, isn’t she?” she growled, the shocked expression quickly giving way to incandescent rage.

“Hermione too.”

“No prize is worth Gabrielle,” both of them said together, with Harry adding, “and Hermione.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Harry asked, his lungs starting to burn. He could feel an unfamiliar itch on either side of his neck, a sign of the Gillyweed starting to take effect. They had an hour to find and rescue them until they were ‘lost’ forever. Harry didn’t care to find out what ‘lost’ meant in this particular context.

“We work together to make sure they’re safe?”

“Yeah.”

Fleur nodded since hearing her was now next to impossible. The girl had cast a Bubble Charm, encasing her head in a bubble of breathable air.

Ludo Bagman’s voice boomed out across the still water toward the stands. “All the champions are ready. The Second Task will start on my whistle, and they have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them! On the count of three. One. Two… Three!”

A shrill whistle rang out and both Harry and Fleur ran up to the surf without bothering to look at what Cedric and Krum were doing. They waded into the icy cold water. Harry’s lungs were on fire by the time they dived into the dark expanse, the feeling only subsiding once he was surrounded by water. The gills on his neck fluttered, capturing oxygen for him and enabling him to breathe underwater. What Neville hadn’t told him were the other changes that the gillyweed would cause. Harry stretched out his tingling hands in front of them and stared at his webbed fingers in shock. He glanced at his feet. His toes had become webbed and elongated, turning almost into rudimentary flippers. Despite his less-than-stellar swimming skills, these new modifications helped him propel himself to Fleur, who was struggling to wade through the dark and gloomy landscape they suddenly found themselves in. Harry locked his arm with hers and helped her deeper into the foggy murk, the cold seeping into his very bones as they swam deeper and deeper into the lake.

He could barely see three feet in front of him, so he relied on Fleur and her much sharper eyesight to navigate them to the middle of the lake. They swam together, passing nothing but plains of mud with tangled, dark green weeds sprouting out of them. Dull gray stones interspersed the vegetation and Harry suddenly felt like he had been transported to an entirely different world. Krum and Cedric were nowhere to be seen. They were alone in the vast expanse of water, with only the occasional fish to keep them company.

They kept swimming until they reached an abyss and Fleur gestured at it with her finger. Harry sighed, a stream of bubbles escaping his lips. Despite every instinct of his telling him not to, he knew they had to go deeper still. They entered the forest of densely tangled, slimy weeds, pushing through it in a desperate attempt to reach their loved ones before the hour ran out.

Harry let out a strangled yell when he felt something grab his ankle, its long, taloned fingers sinking into his skin. Except, no sound came from his lips. All that came was a large bubble, but it was enough to attract Fleur’s attention. They looked back to see a Grindylow grabbing his ankle, the small, horned water demon’s fangs bared in a smile as it let loose a screech to summon more of its colony to their location. Harry pulled out his wand from his trunks and tried to stun it in a desperate attempt to get away before they got swarmed, but it was useless. He realized he could not speak and that meant it was nigh impossible to cast a spell, which left them utterly defenseless against the Grindylows.

Fleur, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as helpless. The Bubble Charm had done nothing to help her dismal swimming skills and she doubted she’d have made it that far without her friend’s help, but the strategy she had picked did have its advantages. She pulled out her wand and aimed it squarely at the creature’s forehead, the envelope of air around her allowing her to speak normally. A jet of red light arced over Harry’s head and slammed into the Grindylow. It released its hold on Harry’s ankle and sank to the floor of the lake, stunned.

Harry desperately kicked his legs, speeding them through the hunting grounds of the Grindylows while Fleur constantly looked around in every direction, stunning any Grindylow that dared to come close.

He breathed a sigh of relief as they finally emerged from the forest of weeds, exiting the hunting grounds of the Grindylows scratched and exhausted, but mostly unscathed. He looked at Fleur who nodded to the sight in front of them. The ledge they were on looked down on a village made up of crude algae-covered stone huts and populated by creatures well-known to Harry from Daphne’s research.

Merfolk.

Except they were nothing like the mermaids he had seen on Muggle television growing up. As they swam down from the ledge, a few of them exited their huts to inspect the interlopers in their village. The merfolk had grey-green skin and long, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow and their teeth were sharp. And without fail, each and every single one of them was armed with a spear or axe. He also knew from Daphne’s very effective ‘lessons’ (what made them effective was her making Padma strip off an item of clothing every time he got an answer right.) that they weren’t the biggest fans of Veelas. And, judging from Fleur’s scowl and the way his friend clutched her wand, the feeling was mutual.

Still, they let them pass through their village unaccosted. Instead, more and more of them gathered the deeper they ventured, surrounding them and singing the song from the egg. Except, they kept changing the time the champions had, reminding both Fleur and him that they were on a clock.

Fleur kicked her legs to come to a halt as they entered what appeared to be a recreation of a village square. A large crowd of merpeople had gathered there, singing and taunting them. Harry paused next to Fleur, taking in the sights as his eyes adjusted to the gloom. Cedric and Krum had arrived before them. Cedric had already freed Cho Chang from the stake she had been tied to, carrying her limp body up toward the surface of the water and to freedom. Krum, who had transfigured his head to that of a shark to give himself gills was having much more trouble freeing Katarina.

Fleur waded towards the Dumstrang champion, only for four mermen to close ranks around them and point their spears at her chest. Harry got a feeling that they’d be all too happy to hack her to death.

“No help,” one of them growled, thumping his spear against the stone floor.

The merfolk who weren’t singing roared in approval.

Fleur rolled her eyes. She spotted a large, smooth rock and transfigured it into a knife, tossing it to Krum. He grabbed it and began to saw through the ropes, tilting his head in their direction as thanks. That finally accomplished, Fleur waded towards Gabrielle, her usually ethereal looks appearing positively otherworldly in the gray-green gloom of the lake. She began severing the ropes binding Gabrielle, tossing another transfigured knife at Harry as a way to prompt him to go to his own stake and rescue Hermione.

It was only when Harry swam through the last few feet and approached the furthest stake that he understood the enormity of his task. Hermione wasn’t alone. Tied with her on the stake was Katie. Why his friend had been dragged into this insanity, he had no idea. As he started to cut their ropes, the eerie singing stopped. Replacing it, however, was a chant much more sinister.

Every single merperson in the gathering began to chant, “leave the dark mate.” They banged their spears against stones, the vibrations causing the water around them to ripple. A single merman swam up to Harry and brandished his spear at Katie’s chest, repeating the demand. “Leave the dark mate,” he ordered.

Fleur had already kicked off with Gabrielle and was well on her way to the surface before she realized Harry was not behind her. She looked down, spotting the merfolk crowding around Harry and his hostages. Half of them had their weapons pointed at Harry, the other half at Katie.

“Fuck,” she swore under her breath, knowing what she was about to do would break half a dozen laws and treaties. She raised her wand, aimed it at the merman closest to Harry, and stunned him.

The jet of red light raced through the water and slammed straight into the menacing creature’s chest, dropping him right where he stood. A terrible screech echoed throughout the village, every pair of yellow eyes in the settlement shifting to the Veela who had dared to intrude in their realm and attack one of theirs.

They all dispersed as further stunning spells rained down on them, ducking into huts for cover and to grab every weapon they could find. The chaos and confusion finally allowed Harry to cut Hermione and Katie free. He wrapped an arm around each of their waists, kicking his legs in a desperate attempt to swim up to Fleur before the merpeople realized he was escaping with the ‘dark mate’.

It was slow going without the use of his hands, and by the time he reached his friend, they were being pursued by an entire army of armed and angry merfolk. Scores fell to Fleur’s stunning spells, but they were far too many to overcome and Harry could see she was tiring due to the combined effort of spell-casting and keeping Gabrielle afloat. Both of them raced desperately to the surface in an attempt to outrun the creatures, their thrusting spears knicking their legs and drawing blood on more than one occasion.

Just as he was about to give up, certain that escape was impossible and they would be overwhelmed, the attacks stopped. Harry looked down to see the Giant Squid protecting them with his body, its enormous tentacles slamming into groups of merpeople and driving them back to the depths of the lake.

Harry look at Fleur who gave him a nervous smile. His lungs were burning again, but this time he knew it was because the effects of the Gillyweed were finally wearing off. The two champions tiredly waded through the remainder of the water above them, the bell that was meant to announce the one-hour mark ringing just seconds before they breached the surface of the water.

As soon as they hit air the spell keeping the hostages in stasis broke, and three very confused women opened their eyes, spluttering and gasping for breath as they coughed out water. Harry and Fleur helped them back to the shore before collapsing into the surf, exhaustion seeping into their very bones.

Hermione was the first amongst them to come to her senses. She glanced at all of them to make sure they were alright, before looking over to where Viktor sat in the sand, back to his human form and cradling a shivering Katarina in his arms. “Shit!” she swore, standing up on wobbly feet. “Harry, where’s your invisibility cloak?” she asked, knowing he had gotten into the habit of never going anywhere without it.

“Bag. With Padma,” Harry mumbled, nuzzling into Katie’s side tiredly. His friend wrapped an arm around his shoulders, resting her head against his. Next to them, Fleur and Gabrielle held each other tightly.

“You’re a fucking boneheaded idiot, Potter!” Daphne growled, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she ran down the beach with Alicia.

Gabrielle hastily scrambled out of the way as the blonde chaser slammed into her girlfriend, pressing her lips against hers for a tearful and passionate kiss.

Daphne, on the other hand, had a very different way of showing her love and concern. She dropped to her knees in front of Harry, poking his forehead repeatedly. “Do you have dragon dung in here, Potter? You couldn’t wait until after the task to declare your eternal and undying love to your ‘precious’? Oh noooo… you had to be special and have two hostages and nearly get yourself killed, didn’t you?” she growled, glaring at Harry before turning to stare daggers at Katie. “Sorry, Katie, no offense, you’re hot and usually I’d have joined right in, but you picked a piss poor time to fuck my boyfriend,” Daphne muttered, her hands running over Harry’s body to check for major injuries.

“I haven’t,” Katie mumbled tiredly.

“What?” Daphne blinked, all the anger seeping out of her. “Bagman explained the task to us while you were all underwater. He said the champions had to rescue their loved ones from the lake. The Goblet had picked the hostages and Dumbledore himself had apparently seen to their safety and well-being,” she mumbled, her fury replaced with utter confusion.

“Yeah. Professor McGonagall came to fetch me and Hermione at the crack of dawn. She took us to Professor Dumbledore who told us the Goblet had spit out our names, and according to the rules of the tournament, we both had to be Harry’s hostages. Declining would cause a whole bunch of magical nastiness to us. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me, creating rules enforced by inviolable magic,” Katie muttered, digging out a water beetle from her hair and setting it down on the sand.

Daphne’s eyes gleamed, “Oh, I like you.”

“Wait,” Harry said suddenly, realizing where Hermione had run off to. “Only Dumbledore knew who the hostages were, right?” he asked, glancing at Krum who was now sitting alone. “Or did all the judges know?”

“All of them, but they only got to know when they came to see us take the special sleeping draughts and be put into the lake while you were all having breakfast. Karkaroff looked like he’d seen a ghost.”

“I bet he did,” Harry murmured with a sigh of relief. They still had time to keep Hermione’s new friends safe from Karkaroff.

“Why the fuck is that important?” Daphne asked, confused. “You seriously haven’t slept with Harry?”

“I mean, I’d like to.” Katie shrugged. “I’ve been trying to get him to cotton on since his second year but he’s never picked up the hints. We haven’t even held hands, never mind kissing or bumping uglies. I have no idea why the Goblet spat out my name but I did have a conversation with a cryptic bastard in Dumbledore’s office who told me that we-” Katie gestured to Harry and herself. “Are apparently meant to be.”

“Cryptic bastard?” Daphne’s lips quivered, the girl trying her best not to smile. Oh, she liked her boyfriend’s new paramour.

“The Sorting Hat. He always talks in riddles. Gives me a headache, honestly.”

“This whole thing is fishy,” Harry muttered, only to yelp when both Katie and Daphne slapped his chest.

“Too soon, Potter,” Daphne scolded, only to make up for it by immediately kissing his cheek. She turned to Katie once more, “you said you wanted to sleep with Harry?”

“Well, not just him,” Katie grinned. “What can I say, I have a thing for hot, adorable younger men. And you have that murderous goth mommy thing going for you that simultaneously terrifies and arouses me,” Katie teased, her eyes sparkling.

“She’s a menace, Greengrass,” Alicia piped up from behind them. “The girl flirts with everything on two legs.”

“Yeah, that might work on Harry but it won’t work on me,” Daphne lied.

“What won’t work on you?” Harry asked, looking away from Gabrielle. She was mostly fine, just utterly exhausted. Bodies of water and Veela did not mix, and her time in the lake had sapped all her strength.

“Doesn’t matter. Why didn’t you ever make a move?” Daphne asked, turning back to Katie.

“I did. As I said, he just never picked up on them.”

“Yeah, he can be a bit thick.”

“Hey!” Harry complained, glaring at the two women.

“Come on Gryffindor brains, we need to stop our girlfriend from murdering the judges,” Daphne said, glancing at the judge’s table where a red-faced Susan was yelling at a terrified Percy. Madame Maxime looked discomfited while Bagman was uncomfortable. Karkaroff was desperately trying to leave, only to be trapped in place by Susan standing right next to his chair. Only Dumbledore was unaffected, having walked down to the edge of the water to talk to the merman who had emerged from the lake.

Harry stood, leaning on Daphne for support. The two slowly started to walk to where Cedric, Fleur, and Krum stood.

“Oh, and Greengrass?”

Daphne looked back, her heart skipping a beat at the impish, playful smile on Katie’s face.

“I’m going to love my week serving you and Harry,” Katie said, winking at the couple.

“I… how… did you…” Harry spluttered.

“I hang out with her, sport.” Katie winked and nodded to where Alicia was being fed a potion by Madame Pomfrey. “I hear things.”

“She’s trouble,” Daphne whispered as they resumed their walk.

“You love it.”

“So do you.”

“Yes,” Harry sighed, having given up hiding his feelings from Daphne a long time ago. “Yes, I do.”

Notes:

So, this was a long chapter but it was necessary to move the plot forward. More than a few new plot points are introduced in it, and the next couple of chapters will be smut and fluff while building up to the Third Task. Also, Katie in most stories is simply... there. A romantic partner for Harry, with no personality or plot of her own. I plan to do something different. Thank you to the Patron who suggested I add Hermione to the polls for this story, and to the ones who lobbied for Katie! Both their additions made this story better. Espresso and above tiers get to vote in all my polls and thus have a greater chance of influencing my stories!