Ch. 139 Dive right in

It was officially the day of the second task and the castle was abuzz once again.

Students were talking about what the task could really be since no one had leaked the details and the clues were kept secret by whoever heard them. This resulted in wild speculations of us having to fight the giant squid in the lake, mostly because we had to get past dragons for the first, to tricking the merpeople living within somehow.

The spectator area was set, domestic and foreign dignitaries were slowly coming in, the ministry was doing its checks for security and safety, and four people seem to have quietly escaped from everyone's sight.

From what I could tell the four hostages were going to be Tory for me, Gabrielle for Fleur, Hermione for Viktor and Ron for Harry.

Aside from the Cho and Cedric change, nothing was different. Fleur and James are barely starting to be a thing so there wasn't really a chance of him being more precious than her little sister. Viktor has actually had more progress with his relationship with Hermione than in the canon, even if it's purely platonic from her end so far, so her position was actually strengthened. And Harry is incredibly dense and has a weird relationship with relationships, so his best buddy was still there.

So makes sense that nothing actually changed from the canon much so far except for little old me.

Since we were all friends as well, our group of Champions and some of our friends decided to walk to the lake together. This formed a group of myself, Fleur, Viktor, Harry, James, Christian, Cedric, a Beauxbatons girl named Marie and two burly teens from Durmstrang named Hanz and Valko.

Harry was actually on time compared to canon where he was told about and given gillyweed at the last second in it. I am guessing my hint helped the golden trio find their solution quicker and Neville spending more time with them aided in the acquisition of said herb since I haven't heard about Snape's stores being raided.

Unfortunately Fleur and Harry were quite nervous about the apparent disappearance of Gabrielle, Ron and Hermione, but they could search no further since the task was upon us.

"Both of you must calm yourselves. Victoria has also vanished and I assume this is related to our task at hand. Two dance partners and romantic interests, a best friend and a treasured little sister all disappear right before we are supposed to participate in a contest said to make us retrieve a lost treasure. It doesn't take much to guess what it can be when you put the pieces together." I said aloud in a calm voice in an effort to help them focus.

"You mean they're going to be in the lake!? But that means they'll be in there for hours and it's freezing in there. Isn't that bad?" Harry nervously asked.

"This was organized by the ministry and overseen by our own Headmaster, there is absolutely no chance they'll let them get hurt while doing this. Just the political backlash from them getting hurt would be enormous, especially since international guests are involved. And Dumbledore would never let a student be in true danger, only enough to test their metal." I answered the dark haired teen.

"But didn't ze egg say our treasure would be gone after an 'our? Wat will 'appen to Gabrielle after ze 'our?" Suddenly asked a panicking Fleur.

"That most likely refers to the time limit for the task. They'll never risk their safety, so I'm guessing there is a penalty for failing to retrieve your assigned hostage within it." Answered James this time as he reassured the worried elder sister and gave her a reassuring smile.

'Good move stepping in at the right time.' I thought with a smile of my own as we continued to walk.

Krum was quiet during our exchange, but he visibly relaxed the tension in his body after hearing about mine and James' deductions.

We reached the judges tent near the lake and our friends/escorts split off from us as they wished everyone good luck. As we entered the judges all looked at us with smiles, except for a Percy Weasley currently looking very pleased with himself while also trying to look like he's better than everyone for some reason.

It's really hard not punching his face right now. He looks so smug about his new position that he's forgetting a few things: his boss doesn't even really know his name, he's not actually the head of international relations, pretty much everyone in the tent has a higher standing/better reputation than him (three headmasters, an actual head of a department, my lordship, savior boy, quidditch superstar and from Fleur told us, her family is very important and well connected in France), and he has no actual authority beyond giving us points.

All that wasn't counting the stuff he doesn't know like his boss being imperiused, him being just a mouth-piece for Voldy-cunt and the fact that apart from his diligence in his studies and in following the rules, he just an above average by-the-book wizard. His grades were great, but that means almost fuck all when you're in an actual fight. Hell, it's usually a detriment for bookworm types since they freeze or hesitate too much.

Anyway, the situation was standard. Everyone gets an hour to retrieve your treasured one from somewhere in the lake. Our score will be based off of our abilities and knowledge used to achieve the task, the damage we sustained or the amount our rescue target gets, the amount of time we took and how well we handle ourselves in general.

The only difference was the edge given depending on our scores in the first round. Based on our positions we get a certain amount of bonus time. Basically, 1st place gets to go 2 min before 2nd, 2nd gets 2 min before 3rd, 3rd gets 1 min before 4th, and the clock would start for real after the last champion hits the water. But since fleur and Viktor tied for third during the first task with 40 points they'll both get to start after 4 min.

We were then guided to our starting positions which were in the movie style instead of the book style, meaning observation platform where people could sit together to observe above the lake.

-mini flashback to holiday break.

"So I'm probably going to have to show my scars for the second task." I honestly said to mother as we relaxed near the fireplace.

"Are you sure dear? Rumors will explode and a lot of people will be asking about it." She gently asked with worry in her voice.

"It'll be ok. Gotta show that Lord Bones isn't just a nice looking flower raised in a greenhouse, but that he's been tested by the elements as well." I answered with determination.

"I think you've more than proven that when you single-handedly restrained a dragon in public." She scoffed with an eye roll.

"Yeah, but it's not like I'm ashamed of my scars. People are going to find out at one point anyway, so why not control the timing for it? I'll even organize an interview afterward and give some explanations on them." I said to try to at least lessen her worries.

"Fine, fine. Like you said, it's not really a big deal at this point. You are more than strong and smart enough to handle it. I just don't want to have everyone make you remember about them." She said with a sigh as she looked at me.

"I'll be ok. Plus I've got a wonderful mother and sister right here. I'm not going to get depressed when you two are there for me." I replied with a gentle smile and a warm heart.

"Fu fu, Don't forget Victoria." Mother said with a light chuckle and a bit of amusement in her eyes.

"I never forget the future Lady Bones." I said back with a cheeky smile, getting mother to shake her head with a smirk on her face.

-end of flashback.

As we all got ready for our dive into the cold water found during February in Scotland, the four of us began to remove our outer robes.

Harry was wearing the same old fashioned thing from the movies, Fleur and Viktor decided to keep their cloaks on since they'll need to wait for a bit, but gasps where heard when I finally took off my last piece of clothing besides my swimsuit.

I stood there in a competition swimming trunks for men, which are tight black shorts which end right above the knee. The trunks were enchanted to keep my important bits nice and comfortable. But because of my choice of swimwear everyone could see my body and there were two kinds of reactions: shock, pity and thoughtful when looking at the scars, and the other was ogling, fantasizing and drooling over my perfectly built body which Garou from OPM would be a bit envious of.

Everyone could see the numerous scars on my body from the dark magic I experienced. The ones around my wrists and shoulders. The ones on my ankles and thighs. The ones I usually kept hidden on my neck. And my back holding the most on my body since those animals sometimes took out their frustrations during the 'tests'.

Slashes, burns and stabs. The trinity adorning my body.

The scar of my chest got a universal shock though. It's just too bad a scar to have any other type of reaction when seeing.

Pictures were being taken at an impressive rate as a result of this as well.

But I couldn't care less at this point. Every move has some purpose behind it. The end goal is simply to solidify my position as a powerful, experienced and righteous lord. I can't have some random jackass come along and call me the next dark lord for no reason besides fear or stupidity. And if someone tries that shit after I release true light magic into the world, then that will just be pathetic.

I simply start stretching while Bagman starts doing his job and explains who, what and why. He announces the rules, goal, current points and order while I finish up and take up my starting position.

'If I could apparate then I could probably finish this task in under two minutes, but I'm not going to reveal Sol to win a contest I can already dominate.

I think maybe 5-10 minutes will be enough to get everything done properly. No need to wait around like Cedric did in the canon either since I've already done what I could to help everyone prepare themselves. Everything else will be up to them.

I will monitor their energies just in case something goes wrong though.' I thought as Ludo finished up.

I heard the signal to start and immediately jumped as I drew my wand.

I casted a few spells I modded just for the occasion: Warmth retention, water displacement, Conic barrier and an oxygen creation rune.

By the time I hit the water I was protected from it and the cold perfectly.

And with a simple wave of my wand, I used the water to propel me towards the tribe settlement at breakneck pace.

Didn't even need to do anything to see well in the lake since my eyes are already far superior to others. Being able to see in this kind of environment is child's play and I am constantly scanning around me to feel different energy signatures.

I quickly find four signatures near the tribe which differ from the rest, meaning my Tory was waiting for me there, and I also felt another coming from behind me as I neared the settlement.

There was no need to actually go through or in the place since the energy from our three ladies and Ron was coming from just outside of it. This resulted in me simply waving back towards the guards and people who spotted and recognized me. Kinda felt like a superhero for a moment while doing it, but I did also feel a bit bad cause it's been a while since I visited.

Quickly making my way to the outskirts, I found the area where the four sleeping princesses were awaiting, alongside over a dozen guards and the chieftain of the tribe. She was a very fast and intelligent one, earning her place as chief through hunts of sea-monsters and great managing of the tribe. We spent a lot of time with her when we came and taught her many ways to improve her people's quality of life, and in exchange we got some cool stuff they had collected from as far back as the founding of Hogwarts, free aquatic herbs and even membership into the clan.

I saw hesitation in everyone as I approached since they recognized me, but they still had a job to do curtesy of Dumbledore and the ministry.

"Hello everyone, long time no see. You don't need to worry, I'm one of the champions for the school and I'm here to get my queen back." I spoke up in mermish as I hovered in place in front of everyone.

"It has truly been some time Star-sage, your tribe welcomes you and feels a slightly uncomfortable due to not being able you nor Healing-current properly. Have you two been well?" Asked the chieftain as she approached, letting me see her long and slender silver scaled tail

"It's good to see you again chief Moonlit-surge. Yes we've all been well, but very busy as life becomes more filled with responsibilities. You're nagging about us understanding your stress later is coming true." I answered with a little chuckle.

"The waves always hits the biggest reef the hardest. But I am guessing you have little time for pleasantries. It is too bad that we cannot talk due to our duties and your task, your wisdom is always appreciated." She said as she bubbled a bit. (Merpeople sigh)

"Yes, I'm here to get back what is most precious to me. I promised to not make her wait." I replied with a gentle smile.

"I am happy your two currents have truly mixed with one another. But you know you can only take her and no one else yes?" She said with her own smile, which is less gentle to most humans because of the sharp teeth, but I'm used to this stuff.

"I know. I've done what I could to prepare the other champions. Everything else is up to them." I acknowledge as I moved towards my spellbound fiancé, with all the guards simply looking at me with respect.

"May you make waves eclipsing the surf Star-Sage." The chief said as I took Victoria into my arms.

"And let the undercurrent bring you the blessings of the sea Moonlit-surge." I replied with a nod as I began to ascend.

With Tory secured I quickly begin my return as I dry and warm the beauty in my arms.

I reached the platform after only having taken about 8 minutes of the allotted 60, breaking the surface with style as I held Victoria in a princess carry and was having the water gently place me onto the platform.

Just imagine me putting Jesus and Moana's ocean buddy to shame with my entrance as I finished the second with ease.