Harry Potter with Technology System

By the time Harry and others returned to the castle, weighed down with Astoria’s “tribute” of chocolates and sweets, the afternoon had given way to early evening. The sky hung heavy with dark clouds, hinting at more snow to come, and the torches lining the castle corridors flickered against the encroaching dusk. 

Astoria was already rifling through her haul, nibbling on a Honeydukes’ chocolate while grinning like she just pulled off a heist. “Totally worth being left behind for,” she declared, holding up a particularly extravagant piece wrapped in gold foil.

Days passed.

February 24th arrived, marking the day of the Second Task.

The castle was buzzing with anticipation. Students streamed down to the Black Lake, bundled in cloaks and scarves, excitement clear despite the biting cold. The stands erected near the water's edge were packed, Hogwarts students and visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang eager to see how the champions would handle whatever the Tournament had planned next.

Harry, however, wasn’t focused on the spectacle. He had noticed two of his friends missing during breakfast, and while he expected this, it didn’t make it any less irritating. The group was gathered near the shore, and none of them were particularly pleased.

Daphne folded her arms, gaze flicking to the lake. "Astoria is going to be a nightmare when you bring her back."

Tracey rolled her eyes. "Oh, Merlin. Can we just leave her there?"

The group let out a collective sigh because, really, Astoria getting taken as Harry’s "most precious" was exactly the kind of thing she would gloat about for weeks.

"I swear, she’s going to hold this over our heads forever," Daphne muttered.

Ginny, arms crossed, let out an exasperated huff. "Why Luna?"

Neville shrugged, kicking a small chunk of ice near his foot. “Probably because they’re the ones who would make Harry react the fastest. Same reason they took Fleur’s little sister instead of me, even though I was her date.”

The group exchanged looks. It made sense. Astoria was the youngest among them, and Luna—well, Luna was Luna. No one doubted that if Harry had to dive into freezing water, those two would make him do it without hesitation.

Hermione glanced between them and then toward Harry, who stood with Viktor and Fleur near the judges. “I wonder if he’s ready.”

Pansy snorted. “Please. Instead of asking that, you should be asking how ridiculous his plan is this time.”

The group let out another collective sigh because, really, Harry never did anything the normal way.

On the frozen shore, Harry ignored the chatter from the stands as he examined the Black Lake. The morning air was sharp, frost clinging to the edges of the dock where the champions stood. The water itself was calm, the surface smooth except for the occasional ripple from a submerged creature moving beneath.

Fleur stood beside him, arms crossed tightly. “They took Gabrielle,” she murmured.

Harry gave a short nod. “Figured as much.”

Krum, on his other side, rolled his shoulders, stretching out the muscles in his arms. “You already know vhat you vill do?”

Harry smirked. “Oh, definitely.”

Fleur gave him a sharp look. “You are not going to do something… stupid, are you?”

Harry tilted his head. “Define stupid.”

She huffed, muttering something under her breath in French before glancing toward the water again.

Bagman’s voice boomed through the enchanted amplifiers, announcing the start of the task. “Champions! On my mark—three… two… one—begin!”

Krum was the first to move. He muttered a spell under his breath, and within seconds, his face twisted, his mouth stretching unnaturally as gills sprouted along his neck. Without hesitation, he dived in, cutting through the water with barely a splash.

Fleur followed, casting a charm over herself before stepping off the dock, her body shimmering as she slipped beneath the surface.

Harry, however, took his time.

He watched as Krum and Fleur disappeared beneath the surface. Krum’s partial Transfiguration into a shark gave him speed and the ability to breathe underwater, while Fleur relied on a Bubble-Head Charm. Efficient enough, but not without risks. The charm could break, and it didn’t offer any advantage in movement.

He stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders as if he had all the time in the world. The crowd murmured, confused by his lack of urgency. Bagman, clearly on edge, cupped his hands around his mouth. "My boy, the second task has started!" His voice carried a nervous edge, no doubt because he had a heavy bet riding on the tournament.

Harry grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Bagman, I noticed. But it’s cold, and I’ve no intention of getting wet."

The spectators gasped.

Karkaroff sneered. "Are you forfeiting, then?"

Harry looked at him, genuinely surprised. "Why would I?"

The crowd stirred, confusion rippling through them. Didn’t he just say he wasn’t getting in the water?

Without another word, Harry stepped forward. As soon as his foot touched the lake’s surface, a thin sheet of ice spread beneath him, forming a solid path. He walked casually across the water, the ice extending with every step, carrying him effortlessly toward the deeper part of the lake.

The murmuring in the stands grew louder.

"What is he doing?"

"Is he seriously not going in?"

Harry pulled out his wand and flicked it. "Sonorus."

His voice rang out, amplified for the entire audience. "Since the spectators don’t know what the second task entails, let me explain."

He continued walking, the ice beneath him smooth and unbothered by the gentle waves lapping at its edges.

"In the first task, we retrieved golden eggs from dragons," Harry said. "Inside those eggs was a clue. The second task? Our most 'precious' people have been taken and placed at the bottom of the lake. We’ve got an hour to retrieve them. The sooner we figured out the egg’s clue, the more time we had to prepare."

He glanced back at the shore, where Dumbledore, the judges, and the rest of the students were watching.

"As you’ve already seen, Mr. Krum went with Partial Transfiguration, turning part of himself into a shark. Good choice. Helps with speed, breathing, and mobility. Ms. Delacour used a Bubble-Head Charm. Less effective—her breathing is sorted, but she’ll have trouble moving efficiently, and if the charm breaks, well…" He shrugged. "Not ideal."

The audience hung onto his words. Some of the Durmstrang students were whispering among themselves, while a few Beauxbatons students watched him with interest.

Harry continued until he reached a point he was satisfied with—far enough from the shore that the lake deepened significantly. He stopped and turned back to the crowd.

"Me? I knew someone from my group would be taken, so I prepared last night." He raised his wand. "Point Mark."

A green light flickered beneath the surface. Then another.

The crowd gasped.

"Keep in mind, you only see them because I’m showing you," Harry said, smirking. "Krum and Delacour won’t be able to."

The audience erupted in chatter.

"What spell is that?"

"How does he know where they are?"

Even the judges looked intrigued.

"It’s a variation of the Point Me Charm," Harry explained. "Modified to track specific people I’ve marked. So instead of searching blind, I know exactly where they are."

On the platform, Madame Maxime narrowed her eyes. "Zat is not part of ze standard curriculum."

"Neither is entering a life-threatening tournament at fourteen," Harry shot back.

Maxime didn’t respond, but he could see Dumbledore’s amusement twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

Karkaroff, on the other hand, looked like he had swallowed a lemon.

Harry turned his attention back to the lake. The green markers flickered steadily beneath the water, pinpointing Luna and Astoria’s exact locations. He gave his wand a flick and cast, “Glacius Dirige.”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd as a thin line of ice shot from Harry’s wand and snaked down toward the lake like a skeletal hand reaching into the depths. The water beneath him froze in a thin, unbroken path, creeping downward in an eerie, calculated motion. The onlookers shivered—not just from the cold but from the sheer unnatural smoothness of the spell’s movement.

“This is a variation of Glacius I created,” Harry said, not bothering to look up from his work. “It works like the Finger of Death phenomenon—directed ice spreading toward a fixed point. In this case, my people down there. The spell won’t freeze them, just their surroundings.”

The ice continued its path downward, and despite the murky depths, the audience could see what was happening thanks to the glowing markers Harry had placed earlier. Ice encapsulated Luna and Astoria, forming solid yet clear structures around them like protective bubbles. The eerie stillness of it all sent another ripple of unease through the stands.

"Bloody hell," Fred muttered from the stands. "Did he just—"

"He's literally taking them like that," George finished, staring.

Hermione groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is not how the task is supposed to go."

Ginny smirked. "You say that like it's ever mattered."

Even from a distance, Harry caught the shift in the judges' expressions. Bagman looked both confused and impressed, while Maxime had her lips pressed into a thin line. Karkaroff, predictably, looked as if he’d swallowed a live rat.

He looked like he was about to explode. "This—this is blatant rule-breaking! There’s no way this should be allowed!"

Harry, still standing casually on the ice, tilted his head. "Rule-breaking? The task says retrieve my hostage. It never specified how."

Dumbledore, who had been watching with quiet amusement, turned to him. “Mr. Potter is, indeed, right. The task merely requires the champions to retrieve their loved ones. It does not dictate how they must do it.”

McGonagall, who had likely accepted long ago that Harry Potter and ‘normal’ were mutually exclusive concepts, merely adjusted her glasses. “That’s… not incorrect.”

Fleur, treading water some distance away, stared at Harry like he lost his mind. Krum, mid-stroke, looked above to see what was causing the commotion. He blinked at the unnatural ice creeping through the depths. "Vhat… is he doing?"

Harry ignored all of them. He waved his wand again. “Wingardium Leviosa.”

A ripple of energy pulsed from the tip of his wand as he tapped it against the starting point of the ice. The crowd watched, breath held, as the frozen capsules containing Luna and Astoria began to rise, effortlessly floating upward like enchanted lanterns.

“And you all know this spell very well,” Harry said casually. “It’s a Floating Charm. Just a bit more… directed.”

And just like that, two ice capsules broke the surface of the lake, rising smoothly from the depths before settling on the frozen platform Harry had conjured. The entire crowd fell silent, watching as Luna and Astoria lay inside the clear ice, perfectly preserved, their hair floating slightly in the frozen water around them.