The landing was anything but gentle. Harry fell painfully to his knees. Besides, he felt sick. It was worse than the fireplace.
He felt the trophy being taken away from him. then he heard it clink and clang.
The boy rubbed his eyes and took a few deep breaths so as not to lose his dinner. Then he straightened up.
"If I had known it was that easy, I could have saved myself a lot of effort."
Harry searched the room for the person who had just spoken. He found that he was sitting in a kind of cage.
at last he had discovered his kidnapper.
"Great, the tooth ruins." He groaned.
Igor Karkaroff stepped closer to the cage.
“I caught you, you depend on my mercy. Do you really think it's so smart to insult me? the man growled.
Unfortunately, he opened his mouth so that you could have a good look at his bad teeth. The guy also had bad breath.
Harry tried not to concentrate on the sight and just breathed shallowly.
"If you'd wanted to kill me, you would have done it after I landed," he muttered.
Oh, of course Harry was scared, but there was one thing he'd learned from his relatives. Namely, never to show this sensation. thus you only gave your tormentor what he wanted.
"Naughty brat, I should put you under a torture curse."
“Do it, I have to see your teeth. And they don't smell like violets, either. merlin, why don't you get things done for you? It must hurt like hell. "
Karkaroff glared at Harry. But although he seemed very angry, he gave an answer.
“Do you seriously think I run around for fun? these are the effects of a curse that the Lord put on my neck at that time. And yes, I am in pain. "
Now the man had Harry's full attention. The boy even stepped closer to the bars and looked at the director.
“Voldemort put a curse on your teeth? Why that?"
The druid walked around the room sorting some items.
“Because I made the mistake of making fun of the condition of my own teeth. Unfortunately, the wrong people heard that and passed it on to him. "
"Ow." Harry muttered.
"Aren't you wondering why you're here?" The wizard changed the subject.
“And whether I wonder. but I doubt I'll get an answer. ”It came from the prisoner.
Harry had tried casting a spell, but should have realized it wouldn't work. His wand did nothing.
karkakoff laughed at this attempt.
“Your powers don't work in this thing. This is the same principle as with the cells in Azkaban. Only without dementors. "
"Which means a clear improvement."
Igor did not go into the words of his prisoner.
"You are here because I need something from you," the wizard then explained.
"And, since you had to kidnap me for this, I assume that I would not have given it to you voluntarily.the boy concluded.
"Right. But even if I did, Snape would never have let me near you. I've tried it a few times, but this jug kept me from doing it. "
"He's not a woodlice, he's my father.Harry immediately mutinied.
Igor laughed disparagingly.
"The guy was a Death Eater, he was one of those people who wanted to kill you, and now he cares about you, hard to believe."
Harry shook his head.
"Severus, never wanted to kill me, he fought for the right to use black magic. That hardly had anything to do with me.
but he told me that you wanted to deliver him to the knife at your trial in order to pull your own head out of the noose. "
“I whistled off a lot of Death Eaters. So as not to have to go to jail. Among other things, Crouch's son. or, why do you think your minister is so bad at me? ”the man growled at him.
“Because you are shoddy towards your students, that's why. even if you betrayed his son, it was his own decision to kill his mother. "
Karkaroff looked at the boy in surprise.
“The man didn't take it that easily back then. he raged and ordered his Aurors to use the Unforgivables against the Death Eaters. "
Harry nodded.
“I know all that. But tell me something else. "
The man just looked at the boy invitingly.
“How did you know I would be first at the cup? Anyone else could have won it too. What would you have done if Victor had shown up here? "
Contrary to what he had guessed, this question did not seem to bother the director. on the contrary, he started laughing.
“There was no such risk. The portkey was aimed only at you. For that I just needed something from your body. "
"Like a poly potion," Harry muttered.
"Exactly, but since I couldn't get hold of you I had to help myself differently."
The man looked furiously at his druid staff, which showed clear bite marks.
"Is that why you messed with Beast?" Harry said, stunned.
“Exactly, you've been dragging that thing around with you the whole time. So it was the easiest method. At least I thought, but this stupid part had to fight back. "
Harry couldn't help himself, he just had to laugh. but immediately he became serious again.
"Still, someone else could have won."
“That's right, but the way you guys work together, I was sure that each of you would hold this thing. just to show how you don't care about this great tournament. "
Now the man was in an extremely bad mood again.
Harry continued to watch the headmaster. The druid looked upset but also excited. nervously, he ran from side to side. He dragged things and mumbled to himself.
Somehow Harry had to manage to distract the man further. Who knew what else was going to happen?
Since he would probably not get an answer to two of his most pressing questions, he tried something innocuous.
"You have enchanted the portkey, but you have not thrown my name in the goblet.it wasn't a question, more a statement. Just as Karkaroff always campaigned for this "noble" tournament, he would probably not break its rules. And, Harry should be proved right.
Karkaroff spun around to face him angrily.
"Of course not! In no case would I have interfered in the selection of the goblet. This tournament has a long tradition, it was started by the best and only the best are allowed to participate. and then a kid like you comes along and throws the whole thing upside down. You should hang those responsible. "
The boy instinctively grabbed his neck.
"Hopefully you don't think that I threw my name into this damned thing?" He asked anxiously.
Igor grumbled dissatisfied.
“No, it is perfectly clear to me that you would never have managed to overcome the old man's magic. No matter how powerful you seem. You are not yet experienced enough for that. besides, you seem to hate all this hype about yourself. "
Somehow these words made the boy easier. At least his neck was safe. Harry's good mood evaporated immediately.
"The broken chain on the first task?"
As Harry had thought, his counterpart grinned angrily.
"Yes that was me."
"Were you hoping I would die?" Harry asked angrily.
“No, but you should be bleeding. and that literally. Because that's exactly what I need from you. "
The black-haired man swallowed and took a step back.
"My blood?" He gasped.
igor took a step to the side and now revealed to the boy the object he had been working on for so long.
The champion's eyes widened in disbelief.
As soon as Harry was gone, Severus jumped up with a loud scream.
"Where is he?!"
The Potions Master jumped from the stands and raced towards the Minister.
"Where did the portkey take him?" He wanted to know angrily.
Crouch looked startled at the angry professor.
"I don't know, there was no portkey." The man stammered. He had turned really pale himself.
Severus grabbed the minister by the collar.
"Didn't you check that thing?"
"Yes, this afternoon."
"If something happens to my child, I'll feed you to Hagrid's giant spiders." Severus whispered dangerously, then let go of his victim.
Sirius, Remus, Lucius and Harry's friends had followed the angry teacher.
all looked around searching. Several glances fell on Dumbledore, but he looked terrified too. He even cast some spells.
Minerva came to them.
"We have to get the rest of the champions out of the maze." She snorted.
the minister had recovered in the meantime.
"No need. As soon as someone touches the cup, the monsters freeze or disappear. The children are safe. "
“Except Harry again. You can bet on that. ”Draco grumbled.
A scowl from his godfather immediately silenced the blonde.
“Severus, Sirius, please don't panic now. We have to think logically. Lucius tried to appease his two friends.
Sirius laughed mirthlessly.
“It's very clear that you haven't had much experience with Harry. this boy would be the only one in a group to climb into a wasp nest. No matter what happened, I can tell you one thing. Panic is definitely in order. "
severus was very reluctant to agree with his partner on such a point, but he too was very worried about his son.
Loud roars could be heard from the maze. Immediately everyone looked in the direction from which the noise was coming.
However, it was only Oskar who brought the remaining champions.
He carefully set the young adults down.
"What about our toddler?" Cedric wanted to know first.
“Somebody turned the trophy into a portkey. the little one is gone. ”Remus growled.
The champions frowned first at the Minister, then at Dumbledore.
"I have nothing to do with it. I'm just as shocked as you are. ”The director immediately refused.
the minister, however, blamed himself.
"I should have guarded the damn thing."
For this he earned nods of approval from all sides.
Beast tugged wildly on Severus ’pant leg.
"What's the matter, you nuisance?" The man poisoned.
the book turned to the dragon.
The Potions Master followed the gaze.
When Oskar was sure that the man saw him, he put his snout into the air and began to sniff loudly.
Harry had bewitched the toy very well, but it was still a thing. So it had no sense of smell. But others did have this property.
It only took Severus a second to understand.
"Lupine, Sirius, we need your noses. Try to find the boy by his smell. There are wards on the school. They make traveling outside with a portkey impossible. So he cannot have left the premises. "
immediately Remus extended his claws and his eyes turned gold.
Sirius looked questioningly at his partner.
Of course, he knew what he was worried about. But the jailer had already thought of that too.
"Come on, come on. then everyone knows how you managed to break out of prison. "
The marauder needed nothing more. This lie should be enough for now. Now he also knew why Severus hadn't turned himself into his animated form. he didn't have that excuse.
Immediately Sirius turned into Blacky.
Many bystanders widened their eyes.
"That explains a lot. No wonder he escaped. ”Moody muttered.
the old Auror did not notice that the minister gave him an alarmed look.
"Now we just need something that smells like the little one, then you can look for him."
Remus glared at Ron.
"Do you think we don't know what our puppy smells like?"
Immediately the redhead ducked his head.
"Sorry, forgot."
Neither Blacky nor Remus elaborated on the boy. Sirius kept his nose on the floor while Remus held his up in the air.
It didn't take long and the two stormed off.
"Come on, we've got him." Lupine roared back over his shoulder.
Nobody was told that twice. immediately the whole group started moving. Only a few teachers and spectators were left to supervise the younger students.
Slowly Harry turned his head back towards the headmaster.
"You need my blood for a doll?" He wanted to know, aghast.
Karkaroff grinned smugly.
"It's still a doll, but with your help it will soon be a powerful weapon."
the black-haired man looked again at the part that was lying on a table. It looked like a younger version of Kakaroff himself. Just hopefully with better teeth, the boy thought. 'Damn it, what do I have with my teeth?'
He looked questioningly at the wizard in front of him.
"Will I get an answer or will it be a surprise?"
Igor snorted.
“Outrageous brat, but yeah, you get your answers. I intend to awaken the Lord again. "
Now Harry's eyes got really big.
“What, but nothing more than a pile of dust is left of that. And that was in my child's room at the time. a terrifying idea when you think about it like that. "
Igor nodded.
"I know all that."
"So you don't think he's still alive?"
"Pah, why should I? This is the fairy tale that Dumbledore gave birth to. but, the guy advised me to betray Snape too. He said I would be set free immediately. "
In a reflex, Harry shot forward. He gripped the bars angrily.
“Was the old man responsible? Why that?"
"I wonder why? to then appear as the savior of this woodlice. The old man planned it all, so he had Snape in hand. But a lot has cleared up with the capture of Peter. That must have gone against the grain of Dumbledore. said the wizard scornfully.
Harry scowled through the bars. At that moment, Karkaroff was glad the boy wasn't able to use magic. Although now the white streak stood up.
"I'm going to pull the guy's beard off." Harry cursed. And those were the nicest words that came from the angry teenager.
At some point the director's ears literally rang. but as long as the boy was distracted from his anger, he could start the spell himself.
Karkaroff grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him between the bars. That brought the child's attention back to him.
"What's that going to be?" He wanted to know angrily.
He was so upset about what he had just learned that he completely ignored his fear.
“I'm finally getting your blood. But before you go nuts. You will not die. I don't need that much. "
"And then what?"
The director ignored the question for now.
He collected the boy's blood in a bowl and then even closed his wound.
Then he went to the table.
“I knew the Lord died because the mark disappeared. However, I also knew where the madman was going that evening. Most of us knew. So I went there. "
“You were there too? When?" Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.
“I arrived at the same time as this half-giant. Then I just had to wait a while. When he disappeared again I went into the house. and as you have already mentioned, I found only a small pile of sand from our lord. I took part of it with me and left again. "
"Why only a part?"
Karkaroff snorted.
“Because I was hoping the rest of the sand would be used as evidence of the Lord's death. But I was wrong, someone made the sand disappear. "
Harry had a guess who it was, but that wasn't that important at the moment. Besides, he couldn't prove it.
“And what were you going to do with the sand?” He wanted to know instead.
as if in answer, Karkaroff pointed to the doll.
“I made this one. I gave her my appearance through my magic. The lord's residue should provide for the resurrection. But there was a problem. Can you guess which one? "
Harry thought for a moment.
“He died from my magic. Or better, through the reflected Avada. "
"That's right, so I'm still missing something to bring this doll to life."
"My magic." Harry grumbled.
"Right again. with the help of your magic I will awaken the Lord's again. Without you it wouldn't work at all. "
“And what is it all for? Do you want to crawl from this madman again? "
the wizard let the boy's blood trickle into the doll's mouth.
“No, and that's where my magic comes in. The lord doll will obey me. Similar to a golem. only that this doll will possess the abilities of you and the Lord alike. He is becoming more powerful than ever. And only I will have power over him. I will rule. Not just across Europe. maybe I'll keep you as a pet, you're entertaining. "
"Great." Harry growled.
Karkaroff now completely ignored him. He started casting a spell and his gaze was fixed on the doll.
Harry began to think feverishly. He had to get out of here. He looked around frantically in all directions.
Suddenly he stopped.
if it was true that this cage was designed in the same way as the cells in Azkaban, then it should have the same flaw.
Harry looked cautiously at his kidnapper, but he still didn't look at him.
"Hopefully it works," the boy muttered.
In the meantime, Sirius and Remus had arrived at the black lake. They walked purposefully towards the large Viking ship.
Severus and the others followed, panting. it was not that easy to follow a dog and a werewolf at full gallop.
Remus turned to the puffing people.
“He's in there. We can smell it very well. But, he's not alone. "
"Karkafoff." Severus growled.
it wasn't a question.
Now they faced a different problem. How should they get on the ship? Dumbledore cast a few spells, but they all ricocheted off.
"I thought you were so powerful?" Lucius got angry.
"These are druid spells, I have no experience with them." The old man justified himself.
"And something like that is called an elite school." Melina growled.
She and her classmates stood in front of the ship and raised their staffs. together they began to declaim a spell.
It took some time for them to break the seals. As soon as the way was clear, Severus jumped on Oskar's back and ordered the dragon to look for his little one.
He didn't have to be told that twice. He was already in the air and flying through the ship.
The Potions Master simply ignored the people behind him.
After about five minutes, Severus heard a low moan.
when he looked in the direction of the noise, a small sand cat with a tuft of white fur on its forehead looked at him.
Oskar landed right in front of the animal.
“Come here, little one. And please transform back again. I am not alone."
the cat ran up to his father and jumped into his arms. Then he morphed back into his own form.
"We have to get off the ship." He gasped.
"Why? I want to tear this madman in midair. ”Severus growled.
"Not necessary. he got himself in enough trouble tonight. But I don't want to be around when he realizes how pointless everything was, please. "
Harry clung to his father.
he still didn't know what was going on, but that didn't seem to keep Oskar from listening to his little gentlemen. He had already turned and was flying back towards land.
"Everyone off the ship!Harry roared at those below.
Nobody knew why the boy was so excited, but they all did what he wanted anyway. After all, it was about the hero, he would already know what he was doing.
Hardly were everyone back on the bank when one heard loud cursing and screaming from the ship.
Severus looked down at Harry.
"He has some of these words from you, doesn't he?"
Harry nodded in embarrassment.
“I guess I lost my temper in there. didn't think he'd use them.
“HAARY POTTER, YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT. I WILL TAKE THE POWER. SOMEONE I WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL MAGICIAN EVER. "
All eyes were on Harry.
The boy sighed.
“Karkaroff wanted to increase his power with the help of my magic, that's why he kidnapped me. Well, the shot backfired tremendously. That should have ruined his evening pretty much. "
the next moment the big ship began to move.
"Oh, and now he wants to escape?" Severus hissed.
He was about to go into chase, but Harry just kept clinging to him.
"Why?" The Potions Master wanted to know.
"He's a fool, but he wasn't the one who put my name in the goblet," the boy explained.
Severus grumbled. He would have loved to pull every hair out of this child kidnapper. but his son was right that there was another evil that had to be removed first.
"Great, and how do we get home now?" Victor wanted to know, exasperated.
The Minister, like everyone else, had heard Harry's last words, of course. and he felt that now was the right time to take action.