Chapter 13 - 13 The 3rd Task and a Cutscene

After finding out that the item he was supposed to protect was hidden in a place Dumbledore practically told everyone about on the first day, Harry cried out, "Why did he hide it there?!"

Snape understood the underlying question and said, "For a sufficiently powerful wizard, almost any security measure is little better than a delaying tactic. The only one of any real worth is the Fidelius charm, but that spell cannot be maintained on a location without magical residents living there full time and the secret keeper cannot live there himself."

He continued, "Few know of this, but there are ways of tracking the location of the Sorcerer's stone which is why it is not so easy to hide. The corridor contained an ȧssortment of various obstacles and tasks, not designed to stop, but designed to stall the thief. Dumbledore himself intended to deal with whomever came for the stone, so the real security was Dumbledore himself."

Harry understood the concept now that he knew better and once he considered it he did find that there really weren't any truly fool proof security means. Recently he found out there is literally a spell that lets the caster find the direction of what they seek using the incantation 'Point Me,' for crying out loud, though that too has its limitations. That was also why wizards left their wealth with Goblins. There was no perfect lock or security when it came to magic. The only thing you can really use to protect something was strength.

Once Snape saw the understanding draw on Harry's face, he said, "Because of your death, Albus resigned his post as Chief Mugwump so he was not informed of the Triwizard Tournament until after he had already swore to Nicolas Flamel to hide the stone for him. Several teachers including myself were stationed around that hall during the tasks but they seemed to find a way."

Harry used his not inconsiderable amount of brainpower to put the pieces together in an instant. "Pettigrew. Pettigrew is an animagus rat. He could squeeze under the cracks of doors to or go around those obstacles whenever he needed to. If Pettigrew investigated the whole thing then brought the details back to whoever got him free, they would have enough time to figure out how to get around them quickly."

Snape's eyebrows raised a bit as he considered it. The truth was that the only obstacle that had any real significance was the Cerburus he refused to call by its given name and the Mirror of Erised. It would be impossible to see it and quickly figure out how to retrieve the stone. However, if Harry's guess was accurate, Voldemort would know of the mirror before he retrieved the stone and perhaps he found a way around it ahead of time. The mirror wasn't unbeatable after all, it was just Dumbledore's best stalling tactic.

Harry asked, "Can we track the stone?"

He answered flatly, "Once the stone had been removed, its trackable signature seemed to have widened from a small space to a vast area. All anyone knows is that it is somewhere in the UK. We can't even tell if it is Ireland, Scotland, Great Britain, or still in Hogwarts herself."

Harry wasn't exactly happy but what's done is done. He went over all his various ideas and plans with Snape. When he saw one of the formulas Harry gave him he said, "This Aerosol Polyjuice Potion won't work like this. You'll need a stronger base to prevent the properties from breaking down instantly and it would never work with hair."

Harry considered it and asked if it could be changed to work with blood. Since Harry's blood even used as an ingredient would vanish after a couple of minutes, anything that used it as an ingredient would become ineffective at that point so it would only last a few minutes. But depending on the circumstances that wouldn't be a bad thing.

Once Snape understood the direction Harry was going, he really wondered how the brat avoided being put into Slytherin.

Snape's experience with runes was inferior to Harry's so he couldn't help with that, but he did know more about potions than the author of any book Harry had in his massive inventory. Like Sirius with light and dark magic and the will to use it, Snape had access and a reason to brew every potion of every alignment and had used his spare time over the last ten years further mastering the art.

"This formula has potential but the critical reaction will take too long. A muggle weapon fires in nearly the same instant the trigger is pulled. This compound would have a moment's delay which for your aims would be unacceptable. Also I understand why you would want an explosion, but a directed force expansion would put more magic into the force of the bullet as it adds to the intent." Harry found that although the potion master was still telling him everything he did wrong as he did in class, the man seemed to be enjoying himself as they were making something new.

Harry gave him the uses of the various rune schemes he could use to ignite the gunpowder and the professor considered the best concoction for a stable but explosive powder that would eject the bullet from a cartridge with enough force and magic to deal with anything in its path.

Another hour passed and Harry had a list of different possible gunpowders they thought up together. There was no way to determine which would be the best without further testing. Snape had written a letter to himself and sealed it with his own magic before setting up the stage for his own Obliviation. Harry left as he knew the man wasn't likely to go against the plan. If Voldemort had the stone he could make a body anytime and call his supporters any day. Both Harry and Snape guessed what the man was waiting for which was why both were eager to complete the formula.

Another month passed and Harry had dropped three levels though did gain them back. It was his first deaths since the tutorial and possibly even more painful than he remembered. It also clearly explained why no one else made a magic gun before this point. He wouldn't bet he was the first to try, but of the list of those who did, there were likely no survivors. If it wasn't for the autocorrection of his Crafting Path, he may not have been able to even do it successfully at all.

On the last week of May, McGonagall told Harry to meet his fellow Champions on the Quidditch pitch.

Flying brooms had likely advanced over the years, but the complex spells that went into the making of even the outdated ones were far beyond what could be imagined. First a magic array would be carved out of a large stone and a recess would be carved into the center of the array. The recess would be filled with a special potion that had some alchemic proprieties and a specially carved piece of wood, the broomstick itself would be submerged into the potion. The magic array would be powered by several witches and wizards and it would infuse the potion into the broom which would then harden into a crystal matrix of a very specific configuration. This matrix included the rune scheme pressed into the broom through the magic array which allowed it to fly using the exotic energy of a wizard.

One of the things on Harry's to do list was to find the secrets of the best brooms and make the best one for himself. For someone with an inventory, a very fast broom would be very useful.

Once Harry reached the Quidditch pitch, he saw Ludo Bagman and the others. The field which Harry visited a few times to run was no longer flat, but looked like an irregular garden. Cedric starred in horror over the pitch as if the vegetation offended his family's honor. Victor Krum's expression was firm but appeared to share the sentiments of the Hufflpuff Seeker.

Bagman noticed Harry's approach and said, "Well, what d'you think? Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry, you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

Krum grunted out, "Maze."

"Correct. The Triwizard cup will be in the center of the maze and the first to get it will receive full points. Points to the other contestants will be determined by how well they did once the cup has been acquired. When you enter the maze will be determined by your current point total."

He looked back at Harry and said, "I'm sorry but it was decided against my objections that other than a wand you cannot take any tools into the maze, no muggle toys as it were. Nothing foreign can be placed in the maze ahead of time. And nothing not already in the field will be allowed in once the task has started."

Harry shrugged and said, "Would it be against the rules if I took a step in then left the maze?"

Bagman considered it for a few moments and said, "No, there is no rule to keep the contestants inside the maze once they have entered but there is only one entrance. Although you are behind in Points Mr. Potter, if you get the cup you earn fifty points regardless and if the other contestants haven't shown off much before then, you could have enough to win."

"So I can leave the maze and re-enter?"

"Yes, but again, you can only enter with a wand, taking anything else with you won't be allowed and there will be several wizards stationed around to specifically watch you and make sure you don't use any muggle toys."

Harry smiled which caused Cedric to frown, Fleur to sigh, and Victor to.. Well, he didn't do anything really.

Harry returned to the castle and was pleased he wouldn't have to worry about the third task. His quest said he'd be penalized if he didn't get full points and getting full points just meant getting the cup before anyone else.

Another month passed and Harry only died once but gained two levels. He finally got a magic gunpowder formula and rune combination that worked for ammo and a gun prototype that worked well enough for his intentions. His tech and crafting path both ranked up twice and his magic path ranked up to 22 thanks to sparring with Sirius in the RoR every day. This meant that Harry had gone from 60 times weaker than Dumbledore to about 60% of Dumbledore's strength. Not perfect, but workable.

He also had enough secret aces to make him feel somewhat secure, if not comfortable. Though anyone else discovering what he had prepared would ask him to look up the definition of overkill. Was a working Reality Bomb of questionable stability really necessary to handle a group of terrorists?

Harry stood with his fellow champions before the towering maze and Bagman spoke to the ȧssembled crowd and gave a pause for applause between each sentence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! In first place, with eighty-eight points, Mr. Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts School! In second place, with eighty points, Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute! In third place with sixty-eight points, Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy! And in last place with sixty-five points, Mr. Harry Potter, of Hogwarts School!

Regardless of the point difference each place would enter a minute after the others so Harry would enter three minutes after Cedric did.

Bagman counted off the seconds while each contestant gave another look at Harry and inwardly hoped he wouldn't show them up too badly this time.

Once Bagman reached the mark Cedric sprinted into the maze. Harry took a look into the crowd and wondered how the final boss battle would appear. He hoped it wouldn't be here since there would be a lot of casualties. Sirius was aware of Harry's fears and was sitting in the bleachers with the Gryffindors and a wand in his hand. He met Harry's eyes and gave a devilish smile. He alone knew what Harry was planning. A few seconds before Harry's mark, Sirius got up and made his way to the judges table to pass on a note.

"Three-Two-One-Go!" shouted Bagman.

Harry leisurely entered the maze. Waited a moment, then walked out of the maze.

Bagman saw this and let his head fall in disappointment. Harry looked him in the eyes and smiled as he shifted into his animagus form and a moment later took flight, directly above the maze.

Bagman shouted, "Look at this! Harry Potter is an Animagus! Is he registered?"

At that moment Sirius had reached the man and handed him a slip of paper which he read before shouting to the audience, "I have just been informed that Harry turned his registration papers in this morning so he is in fact a registered Animagus, a White Snowy Owl. And he is, Yes! He is flying over the maze! I can ȧssure you this is no violation of the rules and he is in fact using magic! Animagus training usually takes years so no one considered a student to be capable of this! Certainly not a first year. This is incredible!"

From the maze everyone heard a familiar shout of, "Really Harry?!" which caused more than a few giggles.

Harry easily spotted the shining cup and swooped down to grab it by his claws and carry it back. The moment he touched it though, he felt himself get dragged by his stomach as the portkey activated.

Bagman shouted, "Potter got the Cup! Wait, where did he go?"

A few hundred miles away, a white owl appeared along with a cup in a dusky graveyard. Harry saw the wand pointed at him and heard the shout of "Stupefy," but as an owl there was nothing he could do. He had no idea he'd experience portkey sickness as an owl when he didn't have that problem as a human.

[You have been Stunned]

Harry woke up tied to a statue. Someone used the spell to revert an Animagus to human and also seemed to place a spell on Harry to prevent him from changing back without the removal of the spell. The ropes that bound him were not normal ones but conjured ones and a little stronger than store bought ones.

Voldemort was definitely here since no one else could stun him in a single shot with the ridiculous magic defense granted by his WIS stat. Harry paused the world and looked around. The paused world was immobile so he couldn't snap his binding and walk about, but he saw enough.

He was tied to a statue that had the name Tom Riddle carved into it. No idea who that was. In front of him were four people, three of which he recognized. Quirrel was there, no surprise. Pettigrew was there, though he looked like a strong breeze would make him beg for mercy. There was a student there in Ravenclaw robes. Harry didn't remember her name since he never paid attention to names, but it was the fifth year girl Cedric took to the Yule Ball and was his hostage for the second task. Huh, you never can tell with some people. Harry wondered what would have happened if Cedric got the cup first. Last was an energetic man with manic eyes.

The only thing besides the group was a cauldron three times larger than a bathtub which the group seemed to pay a great deal of attention to.

Oh, there were also the hundred Dementors flying above the group. How does that not stand out? Luckily Harry's game body and mental protection actually made him nearly immune to Dementors and they couldn't suck his soul out since his soul didn't really exist in his body. From what Harry could tell, it actually was in the same space his inventory existed.

At the moment if Harry were to die, he would reform in the last place he was that he considered safe. That would actually be Sirius' guest room at Hogwarts so there was no way to crush him repeatedly to level one. That being said, it looked like the group was up to something pretty bad. Probably better to not die and see what's going on.

He unpaused and shifted a little to check for any slack but the conjured rope constricted when loosened. Harry had a few ways to break it but now was not the time.

Quirrel immediately noticed Harry had woken and said, "Potter, so good of you to join us."

Harry calmly answered back, "Well I've never been one to turn down an invitation to a good party. Where's the entertainment and the snacks?"

The man he didn't recognize growled back, "Do not speak to the master without respect unless you want me to rip your tongue from your throat!"

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked back at Quirrel and said, "I wasn't aware you had groupies Professor. Congrats I suppose."

Quirrel motioned for the man to calm down before addressing Harry. "Your Professor has been dead for some time. Thanks to the elixir of life, I can remain in his body for as long as I wish, but tonight, I shall craft a new body."

"Ah, not Quirrel. Well then introductions I suppose. I'm Harry Potter. Nice to meet you." Harry wasn't going to do the same as a certain redhead and not introduce himself for six months.

Not Quirrel seemed amused and said, "Very well Potter, you stand in the presence of Lord Voldemort."

Harry kinda already figured that but he didn't want to ȧssume. Quirrel wasn't wearing the turban anymore and his level would have been about 130 with a magic path rank of 23. Harry wanted to find that turban later so he could examine it as it blocked exotic energy better than the rune scheme Harry took months to create.

Voldemort was a little surprised that Harry's lackadaisical attitude survived his own introduction. That wasn't usual. He said, "Do stay comfortable Harry, the entertainment will begin shortly."

He probably imagined that his evil sneer and morbid tones had caused a shiver of fear to trickle down Harry's spine. At this moment though Harry had already figured out what was going to happen and was five moves ahead. He wondered who hated the fates so much they would mess up their script this badly.

The ravenclaw student seemed nonplussed about the whole thing. However Harry realized she was not all there. According to his energy senses, her life force was almost entirely removed from her body and contained within the thin leather book she held. If the book was taken from her, she'd likely die or drop into a coma on the spot. The book itself seemed parasitical and more than a little familiar. But he couldn't place where he'd seen it before.

The manic man who yelled at Harry said in reverence to Voldemort, "It's time my Master."

He nodded and the man began what seemed to be a ceremonial rite. He picked up a bone and said, "Bone of the Father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son," before dropping it into the cauldron.

He gave it a moment and said, "Body of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master." Then Voldemort removed a robe at which point Harry turned away as fast as he could to avoid seeing anything. He didn't turn back until the sound of a plop was heard meaning he was fully submerged in the cauldron.

The man turned to Harry and walked forward with a maniacal grin and said aloud, "Blood of the enemy, fȯrċɨbŀƴ taken, you will resurrect your foe."

He got out a knife and forced it against Harry's arm and pressed deep before sliding the knife down and leaving a trail of blood to his hand. The man set a vial near Harry's fingers and Harry didn't bother stopping the blood from flowing into the vial by making a fist or anything. Luckily the man didn't notice that his heavily pressed slice was just bȧrėly skin deep. Harry's physical defense may not have been as high as his other stats but it still took a lot to deal any significant damage. Once the vial was full, the man walked back to the cauldron without noticing the wound was already gone beneath the line of blood on Harry's arm.

The man carefully poured the blood into the cauldron which shot out golden sparks making the man grin with pŀėȧsurė. From what Harry guessed the sparks should have been silver. Harry figured a large amount of elixir of life had been added to the mix. That would make things interesting.

The sparks fell down and the glow from the cauldron died. A moment later, a man rose from it. Harry turned his head again but luckily the man said, "Robe me," pretty soon which made Harry sigh in relief. He really, really didn't want to see anyone nȧkėd today.

The newly robed Voldemort looked at Harry for a moment before looking down at his own body. He had a full head of slightly curly brown hair and was relatively handsome by British standards. Harry figured that this body was his masterpiece. With continued usage of the elixir of life he would keep this body forever.

The man from before had already conjured a large mirror and Voldemort was vainly admiring his work.

From Harry's senses, the new body was about level 160 with a magic rank of 25. Most considered him weaker than Dumbledore before his fall but as of now at least he was a full rank stronger than Dumbledore. Harry figured that right now Voldemort would likely trounce Dumbledore in a fair one on one fight, the only type Dumbledore would likely give him.

He turned back to the man and said, "Show me your arm Barty."

The energetic man, Barty it seemed, quickly rolled up his sleeve to reveal what Harry could see was the so-called Dark Mark, the sign of a servant of Voldemort. From what he learned, it had faded since the man's fall but as of now the mark on the man's arm was vividly clear.

Voldemort smiled and said, "It's back. They will all have noticed it. And now, we shall see. Now we shall know."

He pressed a finger against the mark for a moment and said, "How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it? And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

He looked back to Harry and noticed he seemed.. Bored. Voldemort approached and asked, "Does my hospitality bore you Harry?"

Harry looked back up and said, "I think between the two of us I have the better track record of being a generous host. Every time I've had an audience I kept them entertained you know."

"Ah yes, I wasn't there for your second task, but I did hear you kept the sheep enthralled by your performance. Your use of muggle toys was as interesting as it was insulting."

Harry heard the venom layered on the word muggle and said, "You don't seem to like Muggles do you?"

Voldemort gave a cruel smile and said below the level the others could hear, "Just between you and me Harry, I once had a muggle as a father. I killed him Harry, I killed him for leaving my mother to die. It is his tomb you are currently bound to Harry."

The sound of whooshing came from above and Voldemort said, "But look Harry, my true family returns."

Fifteen and wizards fell from the sky and knelt in a semicircle around the spot they had been summoned. Some wore masks, others did not. Those who didn't Harry recognized as escapees of Azkaban. Harry wondered why they weren't here to begin with. After considering it, Harry figured he wanted them there after he had returned to full power.

Voldemort began his monologue. He told everyone how disappointed he was in them and how displeased he was that they had lost faith. He spoke of those who remained loyal like Barty and those liberated from Azkaban, but also said that the others had a debt to him that they would not escape paying it in full, one way or another.

Harry didn't feel like standing on Voldemort's dad's grave anymore so he cast the Notice-Me-Not to prevent people from noticing Harry Potter was no longer bound. It wouldn't last long once people actually turned in his direction but it would last long enough. Harry broke the ropes and walked to an empty spot before taking item after item out of his inventory.

From the group Harry heard someone say, "Master, we crave to know, we beg you to tell us how you have achieved this miracle. How you managed to return to us."

"Ah, what a story it is, Lucius. It begins with our guest here who we shall entertain in just a moment. That night you see.."

Harry tuned out the man and conjured a few items. He wondered if this was a game if he would be in a preboss fight cutscene.

"-The foolish wizard sought me out for knowledge and power when all others had forsaken me. I granted his wish of course but for a price. For you see he was a teacher at Hogwarts, and I learned that the Philosopher's Stone, the source of the Elixir of Life, had been taken there. Fate itself was on my side. Aided by the will of magic, three allies had come to my aid."

Harry cringed when he thought that Voldemort considered Harry's Hell Mode his own personal aid. If only he knew what was coming.

"The Triwizard tournament was to be held, the old fool would be too busy to protect the stone. Harry Potter himself aided me, though not by his choosing. I entered the boy's name in the Goblet of Fire as a fourth champion to further distract the old fool. Mr. Potter further aided me by revealing Pettigrew."

Harry noticed the lumpy man violently twitch which seemed to make Voldemort smile.

He continued, "A coward he is, but when I saved him from certain imprisonment, his life became mine to use as I wished. His Animagus form easily bypassed Dumbledore's protections of the stone and gave me what I needed to take it myself when the time was right."

He turned to the Ravenclaw student and then back to the man he addressed earlier, "Lucius, my slippery friend. In a way you disobeyed me and had things gone differently that would have cost you your life. And yet it was this act that yielded me another ally. The diary I told you would ensure my return has done so, but not how I expected it to. It possessed the student you left it to. Once I discovered this, I ȧssisted with the possession and she became my most valued aid in this. Believe it or not, the removal of the Dementors and the destruction of the wards around Azkaban can both be linked directly to her aid."

When Voldemort began to describe how he found Barty and his plans for a new body, Harry tuned him out again. He had poured some bottled water into a tea kettle and was using magic to boil it at the moment. Once it reached the right temperature Harry poured himself a cup and waited just a moment for it to cool.

'-But how could I capture him from under the nose of the muggle loving fool? The tournament I myself entered him into provided that very answer. And here he is, the boy you all believed had been my downfall-"

*slurping sounds*

The Notice-Me-Not charm instantly died to the sound of Harry finishing his tea as every death eater was now looking at him sitting at a table with a tea set casually drinking tea before a group of the deadliest people in all of Britain.

Harry looked at them and said, "What?"

Back at Hogwarts, Sirius Black had long since followed the instructions of one of Harry's contingency plans and set up those monitors from the second task. One of the first things Harry pulled out from his inventory was a couple of flying drones and they all had cameras he'd taught Sirius how to pilot once the marauder understood the implication for pranking they had. Above them all was a special drone that hovered high in the air and took the feed from the other drones and would broadcast them to the monitors Sirius set up.

Only moments after Harry broke his binding the feed had started. This meant almost all of Voldemort's monologue and every name he mentioned had been heard.

Sirius himself was half tempted to rush to that graveyard as fast as he could and half tempted to laugh himself to death at the absurdity of Harry throwing himself a tea party in front of Voldemort's Death Eaters.

Author's Notes.

My ability to post so fast is powered by favorites, follows, and Reviews for each chapter telling me your favorite parts and if any part of the chapter made you laugh out loud.. And not just this chapter, but other chapters as well.