The Second Coming of Merlin

7 Advanced chapters on Patreon: Fiction Haven

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The Kraken had just squirted its ink. Harry immediately cast Lumos Maxima and then released the head-sized ball of light into the water. Quick on the uptake, his fellow Champions did the same. They quickly eliminated the distance between them and Harry with their loved ones tightly held in their arms.

Harry cast a Bubblehead Charm that enveloped their heads altogether. Unlike the Merpeople, he doubted his fellow Champions could hear what he said.

"Please, take Lily to the surface with you. I will distract the Kraken," Harry said with ease.

"No! How could we leave you alone with that abomination?" Fleur protested.

"There is no time. The light is a beacon to the Kraken, though, admittedly it doesn't need light to locate us," Harry chuckled wryly. "Viktor…"

"Leave it to me, Harry. Your Lily will be safe," Viktor assured sombrely.

"Thanks. Now, off you go!"

Before Fleur could protest, the Bubblehead charm burst. Harry pointed his wand upward, pushing Fleur and Krum to the surface along with the hostages. Harry smiled softly as he heard Fleur's muffled scream of his name. How dramatic. He was not a suicidal twit.

Crack!

The Kraken's tentacle whipped past Harry. The ripple it caused was enough to cut Harry's skin, though, it healed instantly. Harry sent a barrage of Bombarda Maxima at the Kraken. They were not as strong as the one he had sent to derail the Kraken but enough to gradually push it back and thwart all of its attacks.

When his bombardment stopped, Harry cast a series of Sectumsempra. It took him longer than he liked as he had to overpower each curse, lest it would tickle the Kraken. Harry could see the Kraken bleeding. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to kill it. Harry's Magic Circuit went into overdrive. He aimed his wand at the Kraken's eye and cast Defodio.

The Gouging Spell didn't manage to pierce through the Kraken's head but destroyed its eye. More ink squirted out of the Kraken, further obscuring Harry's already limited vision. Harry looked up and found the light ball far away from him. The fact that Fleur and the others were close to the surface eased him slightly.

"Protego Maxima!"

Harry's eyes widened as he felt the water before him rippled. He was in time to block the Kraken's tentacle. His shield shattered and he was launched backwards. The force from the attack was enough to bruise his ribs. Suddenly, he felt a sucking force. The Kraken sucked water into its mouth before releasing a house-sized high-powered water cannon at Harry.

Splash!

"We made it!"

At the same time, Fleur and the others made it to the surface. Hermione and Gabrielle quickly regained their consciousness. They were surprised to find the two Champions looking around urgently; their confusion about how they could end up in the water was ignored. Before any of them could ask what made the Champions so panicked, Fleur put her wand on her neck.

"Sonorus! Harry Potter is fighting a Kraken underwater! I repeat, there is a Kraken underwater and Harry Potter is fighting it!"

The cheering audience looked around in confusion at Fleur's panicked announcement. Her French accent made it slightly hard for them to understand. When they did, they gasped in excitement. At least, they did until Dumbledore's aghast exclamation.

"Merlin! How can there be a Kraken under there? We would never put such a dangerous beast in this tournament."

Everyone gasped in shock as Dumbledore floated the students and Lily to the land. Bellatrix jumped down from the judge's seat and rushed to Lily. Lily was still unconscious. A quick Diagnosis Spell revealed that Lily was doused in a fairly strong sleeping potion.

"I will get to you later, Lils. First, I am going to save my dear Harry."

Boom!

As soon as Bellatrix finished her sentence, the lake exploded and a pillar of water rose into the sky. Her eyes immediately spotted Harry in the air, propelled by the explosion. There was a dark bruising and a long cut across his stomach. It was not deep enough to be life-threatening, but it was bleeding profusely.

"Harry!"

Harry frowned and ignored Bella's call. He pointed his wand downwards and cast Bombarda Maxima, in time to destroy one of the Kraken's tentacles that came out of the water trying to reach him.

"Bloody hell! There is indeed a Kraken. Mate, is your brother going to be fine?" Ron exclaimed in shock like many others.

"I don't know, Ron. What do you think?" Charlus returned sarcastically, anxiety assaulted him as he saw his mother's unconscious body and his brother's precarious situation.

Back in the lake, Harry slowed down his fall and froze some of the water for a footing. Bella immediately joined him, followed by Dumbledore.

"Let us take care of this, young Harry," Dumbledore said softly.

"That octopus won't get out of here alive, Dumbledore," Harry spat. "Not after the shit I had to go through because of it."

Harry pointed his wand at the emerging Kraken's head and poured all of his killing intent and Magic into his Spell. Dumbledore and Bella instinctively shivered as they felt his potent Magic power.

"Reducto!"

An intense blueish-white beam escaped Harry's wand and struck the Kraken's head. Before everyone's astonished eyes, the Kraken's head exploded into red mist. Silence enveloped the place as they watched the Kraken's headless body slowly submerge. Harry's intense Magic still made their hair stand on end.

"Fucking hell, that took a lot of me!" Harry put a hand on his knee as he panted in exhaustion. He straightened up and smirked when he registered Bella's disbelieving gaze. "What's up, my sweet liquorice."

"Don't liquorice me! Look at your state! Let's get the Healer's help," Bella scolded in panic.

"Yeah, right," Harry mumbled, feeling a bit lightheaded. "But let's take care of Lily first."

Before Bella could say anything, Harry Apparated to Lily. He winced soon after as his wound opened up wider, drawing more blood.

"Rennervate!" Harry cast at Lily, causing her to slowly wake up. "Hullo, my little Turkish Delight."

"Harry…?" Lily blinked in confusion. "What are you… Oh, shit! Someone hexed me and they are the Kraken thief!"

"Right. I killed that Kraken. Let's talk about the details later. First, we need to recuperate. It has been one hell of a day."

Lily looked at Harry in confusion before her eyes widened in horror as soon as he spotted Harry's injury. She immediately sat up and screamed for a medic like a passionate politician. That woke the crowd up from their daze. Murmurs and gasps of awe soon filled the place. Flashes of cameras bombarded the Kraken killer and journalists furiously scratched their notes.

…

"The Department of Mystery took note of the strange behaviour of one of the Krakens a few weeks ago. We thought it was caused by a territory feud until it suddenly disappeared. My investigation led me to find a trace of Portkey in the Kraken's habitat…and then, I found myself at Black Lake."

Lily's explanation made everyone turn to Dumbledore and Ludo. They raised their hands placatingly, swearing they didn't have anything to do with it. Dumbledore said he only took care of the students but not Lily. Harry's intense gaze turned to Ludo, causing the man to shrink in fright. He revealed that the people from the Ministry were the ones who took care of Lily.

"I will call James and ask if he knows who handled the matter regarding your unwilling participation," Bella announced.

"Oh, I was willing. I agreed to be Harry's loved one," Lily revealed abashedly. "What? Are you saying you don't want to be saved by a Prince Charming?"

"Right…"

"Where is Crouch anyway," Harry asked harshly, causing Percy to wince. "Why don't you contact your employer? This fiasco is supposed to be his responsibility."

"He is feeling a little bit unwell right now," Percy revealed and backed away when Harry's gaze intensified. "But I will contact him."

Everyone watched as Ludo and Percy left the room hastily. They turned their attention to Harry who was being treated by Madam Pomfrey and found the young man frowning solemnly.

"There are moles in the Ministry. There is one here too," Harry intoned. "It is time to clean up."

"What do you mean by that, Harry?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

Crack!

Harry Disapparated, causing Madam Pomfrey to protest indignantly. A few seconds later, Harry Apparated in the room with an unconscious Alastor Moody. Dumbledore's eyes widened, meanwhile Bella and Lily wondered if Harry hadn't gotten over his inherent dislike for the ex-Auror. Nothing prepared them for what they saw next.

"Reparifarge!"

Alastor Moody's body twisted and thinned. His leg regrew and his eyeball dropped to the ground. When his body stopped changing, in place of Alastor Moody lay Bartemius Crouch Junior, a Death Eater who should have been dead in Azkaban. The silence was deafening. Aurors were called and the country went into an uproar.

The Crouch were captured and put under interrogation. What came out of their mouths horrified a lot of people. Crouch Senior's confession about his wife's sacrifice made many equally sad and angry, but Crouch Junior's revelation regarding Lord Voldemort's revival sent the Magical world into panic. The Ministry was busy.

The investigation about the one who had attacked Lily had also concluded. It was one of the Unspeakables who was under the Imperius Curse. Unfortunately, they never knew who cast the curse. Naturally, anything related to the Unspeakable was kept from the public, so no one knew except for those related to the accident.

Amidst all this, the Daily Prophet was incessantly spewing praises and glorification for what Harry had done at the Second Task—his feat against the Kraken and his capture of Barty Junior. Going bolder than they had previously, they wrote Harry Potter: The Second Coming of Merlin.