Ch. 138 Second Task is here

The next month was interesting for a few reasons.

The biggest one being the task which was approaching quickly.

Everything was ready on my end since I knew exactly what the task would entail. I had no plans to do anything really showy since no one would actually see it. I mean, most people are just going to be looking at a lake from a platform, while waiting in the February temperatures of Scotland. So not the best audience for a performance.

I had not plans to harm the merpeople of the lake as well. My entire group is actually quite fluent in a few languages at least and mermish is one of them since we had a tribe on castle grounds to talk too, meaning we are friends of the tribe in the lake and I had no intentions of hurting them. We all had a few good friends down there and we've spent a good amount of time in those waters during the warmer days of spring and fall, going for swims as a method of cooling down and visiting the village while doing so.

The plan was just to be in and out quickly since I knew the tribe would be guarding our 'hostages' in or near the village, so I just had to beeline for it.

To make things fairer for everyone, I decided to hold a little class on the ecosystem of the Great Lake for all champions who wished to take it. Unsurprisingly the three were quite enthusiastic about it, so I started on the various species we have in there. From what we know, the lake as the Merpeople tribe of Selkies, their mildly domesticated Grindylows, some Kelpies running around, our friendly giant squid, a few smaller crustacean and fish species and a variety of aquatic plants which may or may not try to drown you if not careful.

I gave a few pieces of advice on how to properly cast spells underwater and how to fix the problems which arise from the resistance it offers. Not a problem for me due to my experience underwater, but the three in front of me neglected such fine detail as they are too busy either perfecting the spells they need to breath underwater for an hour and Harry still hasn't figured out how he's going to do it yet. The reason for that being because the spells Viktor, Fleur and I will be using are way above fourth year, something which Harry has no hope in mastering in under a month since a fourth year spell like Accio was causing him so much trouble and he doesn't study ahead much.

By the end of the meeting they all had a proper idea on what they would be facing down there and plans were brewing in their heads. Well again, except for a nervous Harry. But I gave him a list of specific books and chapters to look at for possible solutions outside of spells. I still can't give him a straight answer since it could lead to my disqualification from the tournament for breaking the contract of champions. My vague directions and roundabout help like my little lake lesson and book suggestions are still permitted, even if I feel the magical bindings push back a bit.

But I'm sure that if Harry struggles too much our resident mad man will blatantly help him. They need him at that graveyard after all.

Speaking about that little plot, some interesting bits have made their way into my ears.

Anyone remember Crabbe and Goyle Sr? No? Yes?

Well they were finally released from Azkaban during the break after serving their time, but they simply vanished. Two of the most rock-headed death eaters in existence just disappeared from everywhere and no one seems to care or notice except for me and one Lucius Malfoy apparently.

I think that even after fucking them over he wants his stupid gargoyles back so he can scheme from a distance again. Most likely to get back at me, but who cares? I had my fun with these idiots already. If they stand against me and decide to serve under that hairless pussy again like good dogs, I will kill them with no mercy.

That is if Voldemort doesn't get even more irrational and kills them for me first. But I doubt that'll happen soon, the reason being his need for pawns in order to gain his army of fools and bigots. Especially after I made a number of his leadership disappear. He'll need to get his fanatics out of Azkaban quickly as a result.

And yeah, his moves are generally predictable for me. I know his usual M.O, I know his past and future plans, I possess an understanding of his psychology and I'm going to be putting a lot more pressure on him as soon as he returns and the ministry tries to deny it. So predicting him is pretty easy for now. That will probably change when he becomes more stressed and experiences even worse mood swings and bouts of irrational behaviors.

He won't even see me coming.

A figure no one knows about. With power matching his at the lowest estimate and far surpasses his and Dumbledore's at best. Capable of moving the ministry without anyone being the wiser.

I am what he would dream do become, but my methods and end results are the complete opposite of his.

We both technically want to restore the wizarding world to its true glory.

He believes it is through blood supremacy.

I believe in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge.

He believes only through fear and brutal tactics that this change can be made.

I believe in gradually opening the minds and spirits of the people.

He believe pure and noble blooded overlords are what should rule over their inferiors.

I believe those who show proper character and capabilities should lead.

He leads through fear and blood.

I lead through ideals and common hopes.

He sees himself as the heir of Salazar Slytherin, of the noblest blood, the strongest wizard in existence and immortal.

I am Aedan Bones. Lord of my family. With strength born in darkness and refined in the light. I see myself as a guide, hoping the vision of the future I saw can truly bring happiness and prosperity.

But both of us will kill those in our way.

Both of us surpassed the masses with the help of rituals.

Both of us are probably closest to what an immortal human could be. (As far as i know, my lifespan is enormous. I'm gonna need to see what I can do for Tory.)

Both of us are half-bloods. (Not the most important, but it's a commonality.)

It all comes down to what we want the future to look like.

And I will never allow his vision to come true.

He lost without a Dumbledore level opponent before. So now I'm going to completely crush him when he comes for round two.

Speaking of crushing someone and moving away from that slightly depressing comparison, the prep work for ending Fenrir Greyback is pretty much done.

From what my spies and informants have gathered, he's going to be in the country by the second week of March, coming for no other reason than to destroy our suppressor and any research or samples of it. The Ministry is waiting for our go ahead before announcing and officially stamping their seal of approval on it, they only required a change in classification since it's not technically a vaccine. It's really not a big deal.

The monster has no clue the entire werewolf community in Britain is under mine and Geri's rule. We cleaned house ages ago and everyone is extremely loyal because of the massive improvements in living standards. I mean, who would follow someone who would make them act and live like animals when we can offer a better life than a lot of people? It is quite funny to have everyone act like the man is still a big deal instead of a dead man walking, seeing the reports of his actions and blatant ignorance of the fact confirmed he knew nothing about the real situation.

He actually thinks that only maybe 200 werewolves were with us, which is off by at least another digit. It has become the second largest magical settlement in Britain, only outdone by Hogsmeade which has near 3000 residents.

The reason for all of his misconceptions lie in the fact that we have been doing all this very carefully. We even involved all of the powers in the underworld in the 'hit' Geri was payed to undertake. None of them like Fenrir. He's a bastard and a menace, with some of the gangs and crime families having actually lost people to him in death or curse. They were more than happy to simply help keep things quiet without even losing any money over it.

On the other side of things, my friends were very excited about this.

We all agreed to use the vanishing cabinet connected to the Folster Manor in order to slip out silently. With all of us making sure we wouldn't have any prefect or head boy/girl duties that night. Sometimes having authority is very useful. I did already move the cabinet to the RoR, or more specifically the Room of lost things, since it would be too annoying to get James and Tory into the Ravenclaw dorm. Plus we all mastered stealth spells and movements through extensive training and practice during our years at Hogwarts, so meeting up there is easy as pie for us.

Their individual preparations weren't anything to sneeze at either.

Victoria made a bunch of useful potions and poisons for battle, designed to incapacitate, hinder or kill her opponents in various fashions on top of honing her skills for battle even more. It was like seeing an alchemist from games getting ready. From what she's told me, the effects were varied and imaginative: smoke of various densities, smells and effects, glue bombs which expand dramatically and harden to a degree after a few moments, some flash bangs, acidic solutions strong enough to down even a werewolf, various healing potions and even a poison coated dagger.

James had a fire lit under him as he began to manufacture protective equipment for the crew. The results were pretty damn impressive. And that's coming from someone who had close relations with goblins for nearly a decade now and has pieces made by their finest craftsman alive. The guy made vambraces and shin guards in triplicate, with thigh and shoulder guards added to make for nothing could stop anyone from moving or casting. He said he had also wanted to make everyone chest protection but he didn't have nearly enough time. So he focused on making the above extremely well and concealable under proper clothing. He even made a set of cool looking silver masks with different patterns on them. I had wings under my eyes, Tory a more feminine shaped mask with a circlet engraved, Christian had carvings reminiscent of the wolf school from the Witcher, and James had what was basically a Buddha face.

And lastly Christian was making war preparations. He had ordered numerous tools used for werewolf hunting back in the days through some connections. It included various silver tools and weapons like knives, silver dust grenades, liquid silver and even a crossbow with silver tipped bolts. He also got extremely strong scented brews made to harm the enhanced noses of our targets. We even got some plants he was very familiar with to be prepared throughout the town so he could use them to their full potential.

Everything was ready of the towns, Geri's, my men and the ministry's side as well. All that was left was to kill the bastard.

And with all that happening, the 23rd of February had concluded and the day of the second task was here.