Chapter 37 The Speed of Wind
They had returned to Hogwarts the next day. Needless to say their reception was…intresting. The students with the clear exception of the Slytherins welcomed them with cheers and several encouragements. “Go Black Maruaders”, “Prank us Harry”, and “Tear the school down were amoung a few of the common things they would say to them.
Yet ont the other hand was the reception they had from McGonagall when they reached the great doors of Hogwarts Castle. When Harry and the Black Marauders got out of their carriages, she met them at the doors.
“Mr. Potter, will you and your comerades be so kind as to follow me” she said in a tone that clearly indicated that she was giving them an order.
“Yes Headmistress” Harry replied for his group as he lead them behind McGonnagal. She lead them into a small room near the entrance and held the door open so that they would all step inside. When Neville who was at the back finally went through she closed the door.
“Please take a seat along with your friends” McGonnagal indicated to the couch.
Harry and the Black Marauders took a seat and look at each other somewhat uncomfortably.
“Headmistress what is this about?” Harry asked on behalf of the group.
Minerva sighed and then looked at Harry, “Mr. Potter, it is blatantly apparent that the only people here that don’t want you to keep misbehaving and pranking the school are me and the Slytherins. Frankly I find that disturbing on several levels. In any case I wanted to ask you to please behave yourselves. While most of you will be aways for 2 months for the Quidditch World Cup and Merlin have mercy on the organizers. You will still be spending three more months at this fine institution and I will not tolerate any more large pranks like those you have shown in the past. While I can’t prove you were involved I know it was you” she explained.
“But Headmistress that is hardly fair” Harry began but was cut off.
“Save it Mr. Potter, I simply wanted to put you and your Marauders on warning, anymore big pranks and you will find yourselves in A LOT of trouble. Now have a very good day and a fine end of year” Minerva said with finality and then left the room.
“Man whats her problem?” Seamus said breaking the brief silence.
“Harry you can’t possibly take her seriously” Ron stated.
“Oh yes he can, and WE will” Hermione commanded as she looked at Ron.
“Why do I have to listen to you?” Ron replied.
“Because if you don’t you can forget about our late night randevous” Hermione explained raising an eyebrow in annoyance.
“Huh?” Ron asked confused.
“It means your not getting any mate” Neville clarified.
“Oh, gotcha, why didn’t she just say it in English from the start:” Ron commented.
“I did use English Ron” Hermione responded getting more annoyed.
“Well I don’t think so, and in any case I will back whatever Harry does despite the…consequences” Ron said a bit nervously but with conviction at the end.
“Damn, well then you leave me no alternative. If you insist on this course of action I will have to take drastic measures” Hermione threatened.
“In English please” Ron replied with a smile.
Hermione got frustrated and grapped his robes close to the neck, “It means that if you do anything resembling a prank I will call your Mother and tell her about everything WE have done, and all the misbehaving you have done with Harry, and I do mean ALL” she concluded with vigor.
Ron was truly horrified, he looked to Harry for help.
“Sorry Ron, for your own health your going to be out of out pranks” Harry replied.
“Roger Snuffles will do” Ron said saluting his leader.
“In any case, we will be going on hiatus with the pranks till after the cup. Frankly since most of us are on the team I would rather avoid any trouble that McGonnagal throws our way. Who knows she might actually be stupid enough to ban us from competing” Harry commented.
“She wouldn’t, she knows we are England’s best chance at the Cup” Ginny interjected.
“She might but I would rather not run my chances” Harry replied.
“Come on Harry, you know you won’t be able to hold out of pranking the school in the last few months you will get to spend here” Rose said with a smile as she hugged her boyfriend from behind.
“Whoever said I wasn’t going to prank them. I’ll just wait till after we win the World Cup. Once she has that in her office she will let us do whatever the hell we want. We will be her favorites” Harry said with a grin.
Rose chuckled, “That’s the Snuffles we all know and love” she said and then kissed Harry.
“Really Harry, do you think Headmistress McGonagal is that shallow as to let you do whatever you want just cause you won a stupid tournament and got her a shinny cup to put in her office?” Hermione asked a bit put off by what Harry had said.
Everyone looked at each other then nodded vehemently and said, “YES” in unison then laughed.
Ron looked at Hermione and hugged her from behind “Love you need to understand that McGonagal is a HUGE Quidditch fan. She could have had Harry expelled for half the stuff he does, but the truth of the matter is that he delivers on the field. It has always taked something really extreme to have her go against her competitive sports nature and ban Harry from the field. If…I mean when Harry brings her the cup this time, it will be a free for all” Ron explained.
“Really Ron, you can’t be serious” Hermione said trying to deny it in her mind.
“Hermione really” Ron said giving her a look.
“Bloody hell, your right, however rare it is, your bloody right. Don’t know if to root for you to win or not. Frankly I was looking forward to some peace to study for the NEWTS” Hermione said acting angry.
Ron hugged her harder, his scent intoxicating her like she wanted. “You know you will root for us, cause you have a thing for the Keeper” he said sexily in her ear.
“True, he is a stud. But I’d rather have some fun with his “thing”” Hermione answered back as she raced to the room.
“Ah the chase” Ron said as he dashed after her.
Harry just laughed, “Ok guys, let’s go get settled in” he said as he walked out the door followed by his friends.
The first week flew by quickly, Sunday had rolled around and Harry was sitting by the fire just relaxing and loosing himself in the flame. Everyone was studying, or having fun or just sleeping. Yet Harry felt that something was…off. Maybe not so much off as more like something was going to happen. Shadow lay asleed on his chest and occasionally let out a growl and smoke came out of his nose. It just seemed wrong to Harry, this peace, it was wrong.
“Peace is never wrong, you just never have known it” Alexander said as he passed through the portrait.
“Still Axel, I know it won’t last. I know I must fight” Harry answered grimly not moving at all.
“All in due time, for now you should enjoy the moments of peace you have. One day you might have to live in complete peace, however will you survive the boredom” Axle replied chuckling.
“Really, I just can’t picture it. I don’t think I will live to see it, that is if it even comes” Harry replied stoicaly.
“Only time will tell, but you shouldn’t let that rule your life. Fight for peace, but prepare to live it as well. You can win Harry, you just need to believe” Axel replied.
“Easy for you to say, you are incredibly powerful. You should be fighting not me, you could probably end this all in one night” Harry said bitterly.
“Stop your bitching, I came to tell you to sleep well tonight. Tommorow meet me infront of the castle in the morning” Axel replied with a grave tone.
“The next Stone I take it” Harry commented as his site dug deep into the fire.
“Yes Harry, the war is coming. It is time for you to grow stronger, you will find the next stone to be very usefull at the World Cup” Axel explained.
“For some reason I don’t care. I’ll be there tomorrow” Harry said still motionless.
“Fuck this” Axel said and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly Harry was falling, he looked all around. There was nothing but night sky. Below him the ground was barely illuminated with lights. One thing was apparent, he was VERY high up in the air. He had no broom, and Shadow was gone.
“What the fuck?” Harry screamed not knowing what the hell was going on.
“Well Harry, I thought if you had this little faith in yourself, that I should do you a favor and just kill you now. That way you stop waisting my time and we can just hand the world over to Voldemort” Alexander said as he floated cross legged next to Harry as he fell.
“Fucking hell Axel, stop this shit and save me” Harry demanded
“Why, so you can bitch and moan some more. The world is counting on you, I’m not your nanny, I’m your teacher. I am not here to wipe your dippers, I am here to teach you to be a warrior. Have you forgeten why you are fighting?” Alexander asked as they continued to fall
“I fight to free the world of Voldemort” Harry replied.
“Wrong, you fight so that Voldemort won’t rape, pillage, and murder everything and everyone you love. You fight so that you never have to see another of your loved ones die like Albus and Sirius did. You fight because you’re the only one that can fight. So quit fucking whining, just focus on getting stronger and winning. Or should I just let you die now, that way Rose can go home to daddy with a nice Potter pancake as a tribute” Alexander replied with gravity in his tone.
Harry felt like shit, each word that Axel had spoken struck a cord. He knew Axel was right, once again he had fallen into self loathing and helplessness. He had forgeten all that was good in his life all that was right he knew what he had to do.
"Axel, your right, I am being an idiot. Get me down on land so I can get some sleep before tommorow" Harry requested as he no longer cared that the land was rushing towards him. He felt like he deserved to die for abandoning all hope and giving up before the fight.
"What do you plan to do tommorow?" Axel asked remaining calm next to Harry.
"Tommorow I am going to go get my fourth stone" Harry said with determination
Axel smiled and clicked his fingers, Harry was now back in his bed.
"Well said Harry, now get some rest, you will need it in the morning." Axel explained then began to leave the room.
"Hey Axel" Harry said as Axel began to leave. He turned around and looked at Harry. "Thanks for nearly killing me, I really needed that" Harry said with a smile.
Axel laughed, "No problem Harry, now get some rest" Axel instructed and then continued to leave. Just as he opened the door he turned around, "Oh almost forgot, bring your Black Supernova tommorow" Axel said and then left leaving Harry curious as to why he would need his broom.
Harry slept well and was all rested up the next morning when he got up and headed towards the lake to meet up with Axel. The day was young and the sun was barely up in the sky. He had remembered to bring his broom like the Professor had requested. "Man its cold outside" Harry murmured to himself in the foggy English air.
"Yes, it is rather unfortunate weather that is part of the year" Axel said appearing next to Harry.
Harry was no longer surprised by his mentor´s abilities. "So where am I off to?" Harry asked.
Axel opened the doorway, then looked at Harry. "You are heading to the world of Wind, a very unique place to say the least. Don´t focus on trying to beat anyone up, you can´t hurt them. Just keep close to your broom and beat them at their own game" Alexander instructed then pushed Harry through before he had a chance to ask anything.
"What the...?" Harry said as he went through the portal. Next thing he knew he was in very familiar circumstances. He was falling through the air. Harry looked down and could only see more sky and clouds all around. "This is bloody great, back where I started I suppose" Harry mumbled to himself then got on his broom and started to fly. "Well best not loose too much time. Now where could these guys be hidding the Stone of Wind?" Harry asked himself. He shrugged and started to race towards the ground, the problem was that after a while he noticed the ground was nowhere to be seen. He raced down even faster, holding back a bit in order to avoid hitting the ground by surprise. The clouds kept getting thicker reducing visibility. He was going decently fast when he saw something pop out in front of him. It almost looked human, yet Harry could not stop and rammed into it. More like he rammed right through it and kept on going.
"You bloody bastard, get your solid ass back here. You ran right through me, that is rather rude of you" Harry heard the figure scream into the wind. Harry finally managed to stop and turn around. He flew right up to the figure that was now joined by other creatures that looked just like him. He looked like a human ghost, only much clearer and solid looking. He looked more like his body was composed of air and his skin was like a golden film that covered him.
"Um, sorry about that. Didn´t see you there till it was too late" Harry apologized.
"Bloody hell you wouldnt considering how fast you were going." replied one of the creatures.
"Hope I didn´t hurt you" Harry continued.
The creatures laughed, "Human, you can´t hurt the wind people. We have not physical bodies, we are only wind essences. Still it tickles a little and is very rude to pass through one of us" replied another growing serious at the end.
"I suppose you were headed for the race" a third suggested.
"Umm, I don´t know. Actually I was looking for something. My name´s Harry Potter, I am here to find the Stone of Wind" Harry replied.
"Hum, well I have never heard of it. Still if you are looking for anything, the race is probably the best place to find it. My name is Ventis, these are my freinds Torentes, and Brises" explained Ventis.
"Nice to meet you, could you tell me a bit more about this race. Do you use it to decide who your King is or something?" Harry asked.
The wind peoples laughed again, "No Harry, we have a very wise and old king. No the race is to prove who is the fastest and luckiest amoung us. Anyone can compete, you just need to put up an object as the entrance fee. The winner gains a great amount of pride, he is celebrated as a hero for a whole year till the next competition. Additionally he not only takes home the trophy, but he gets to pick three of the objects that were put up as a entrance fees. The rest are returned to their owners" Brises explained.
"Well isn´t that a bit overdramatic, I mean I can understand the pride, but the prizes seem to be very low for such a race. I mean one could put up some preatty cheap object vs. another´s extremly valuable one" Harry suggested.
"Harry, all objects are precious in our world. As you can see we really don´t have that many solid things here. There is no land, only clouds, frankly anything solid is considered a great treasure to us" Torentes explained.
"I see. In that case I see why you think the race is the best place to look for the Stone" Harry replied. "There will be a comming together of a great amount of solid objects. So what are the rules for this competetion?" Harry asked.
"Well the race happens is in one week and takes place inside the sky stadium" Ventis began to explain.
"Sky Stadium?" Harry asked.
"Yea, it is the only solid structure in our world, normally we just live on clouds. Anyway the race takes place inside of it, it is preaty impressive, you have to see it to belive it. So once inside the goal is to get through the maze and through the finish line first. The problem is that the mazes are everchanging that is why this is a race of speed and luck, you need both to win. You could be stuck inside forever if your not careful. Some Wind People have been stuck inside for years before they get out" Ventis continued.
Harry was having a not so pleasent flashback to the last event of the Tri Wizzard Cup. Since then he had taken a small disliking to mazes. "What was the fastest time to ever go through it?" Harry asked.
"Well as far as I can remember it would be our present champion, Tempus. He completed the race in 13 days and 11 hours. I think there have been faster times, but usually its somewhere around two weeks" Ventis replied.
Harry chuckled, "Just great. Axel did say to beat them at their own game" Harry thought to himself. "So Ventis how do I get to the stadium?" Harry asked.
"Just follow us, we will take you there. I must warn you though, you don´t have a shot in hell of winning. The champs unbeatable, plus you can´t fly" Torentes replied.
"Torentes, give the boy some slack, he could still make a decent showing" Ventis replied smilling.
"Well then boy, follow us, we were planning to go anyways to watch the tournament" Brises added.
Harry did so and as he followed them he couldnt help thinking how similar this felt to all his other adventures, yet at the same time very different. He also felt like he was going down, it was hard to tell as there was no land that could be seen. The time seemed to fly as the nights and days went passed. Harry slept on his broom. He marveled at how large the planet was. He wondered how long it would take him to fly around it at full speed in his Black Supernova. Frankly he would have tried if not for his fear of getting lost. Finnaly, after a week of flying he finally saw it, in the distance was a massive cube, it was as big as a city. All around it many wind people floated in the air and talked.
“This is it Harry, this is the start of the race. Good luck, you are defenetly going to need it” Brises told Harry.
“Thanks Brises, I think. Thank you all for showing me the way here” Harry replied looking at his travel companions.
Harry flew over towards where the competitors were linning up to register. After a week of traveling and a half hour of waiting in line, he was finnaly infront of the officials. He was also finnaly standing of something solid, the cube seemed to have gravity so we walked up to the table where the official awaited.
“Intresting, a human, it has been a while since we saw one race” said the official. “What is your name?”
“Harry Potter” he replied.
“Excelent, well then, what will you be wagering?” the official asked.
“You can take my shirt” Harry said as he took his off.
“Hum, a very tempting wager, ok then, your shirt shall do” he said as he took Harry´s shirt and placed it in a pile with the other objects being wagered. “Now then, I must also take your flying broom, those are not allowed in the competition” he added.
Harry was stunned, “How am I to race then?” he asked.
“You run my dear boy, you run. This is the very center of our planet and therefore we have very odd gravity, one would say it is like flying without a broom, you never know which way the gravity will shift, therefore you could very well be able to walk up walls” the official explained.
“Oh well, whatever. Here you go” Harry said handing over his broom, then walked towards the entrance where every competitor awaited the start. “This is just great, leave it to fate to give me a hard task in order to get my bloody stond. I mean come on a ruddy maze, I really do hate them” Harry thought. All of a sudden a gust of wind knocked him on his face.
“So it is true, a stupid humand has actually come to race” said a rather arrogant voice.
“May I ask who the bloody hell you are and why you pushed me?” Harry asked annoyed.
“The name is Tempus, and I am the reigning champion of this race. And i pushed you because your kind is not welcome here” Tempus replied.
Harry chuckled, “I really don´t give a crap who you are. I will beat you, you really have now bit off more than you can chew” Harry said as he walked over to the starting point not giving Tempus the slightest indication of fear.
Tempus fummed and stormed off...quite literally, “Human when I win i will take your shirt, it should be easy. You have no way of winning this” he said as he flew to the start.
“Your attention please” said an official as he stood before the entrance. “The race is about to begin, racers to the starting line” he called out.
Many Wind People lined up infront of the gate, Tempus was at the front with many others. They all looked focused, some looked nervous but all looked ready. Harry was ready too, he would use evey ounce of his speed to get through the exit gate first.
“Ready, set,... GO” screamed the official and the race was off. Harry ran at full speed, he got passed a few, but then just as quickly he was the last one there. The Wind People had moved unbelievably fast, so fast that Harry could not keep sight of them. “So this is the power of the Wind” Harry thought to himself as he turned on his Kivide. Time stopped as it always did, Harry moved at his full speed, he entered the laberyth, his eyes peering deep through the dark, torched lit up the inside of the maze. Harry could still see the slowest of the Wind People infront of him throught the walls. Even with his power, their speed was equal to his own. “This is not good” Harry thought. He knew he couldn´t use his full speed for long periods of time, he would run out of energy and the only way that he could keep up with them all was to run at this speed. “I guess i'll just have to rely on my eyesight to help me pick the quickest paths and avoid dead ends. That and some luck and I might just win” Harry thought.
Back at Hogwarts, the Dark Mark burned on Draco's arm and on Rose's ankle. They both moved quickly and stealthely to the outside of Hogwarts. It was then they saw each other as they exited the castle.
“Afternoon Malfoy, what an unfortunate event it is to see you” Rose comented as she ran to the gates of Hogwarts.
“Indeed, Riddle, it is such a pain to see you as well. What not bringing your boyfreind so that he can get a shot at killing your dad? I would have thought by now he would be acompanying you, that way you can try and bind him while Potter kills him” Malfoy retorted.
“Oh shut it, you know where my loyalties lie” Rose replied as she reached the gate and exited the school grouds.
“Oh I do, I just wonder if you do or you just think you do” Malfoy said as he touched his mark and was instantly transported before the Voldemort himself.
Rose was confused by what Malfoy had said, but thought nothing more of it. She touched her mark as well and was transported before her father.
Voldemort stared at the pair through icy red eyes, eyes with no love but pure hatred stared at the pair.
“Hello Draco, how are things?” Voldemort asked with a wry smile on his face.
“Nothing to report my Lord, at least nothing we haven't already reported already. Professor Canem teaches the Slitherins and the Ravenclaws seperatly. He is taking the team to the Youth Quidditch Tournament, and the mission you gave us has been progressing without a hitch, though I still don't know what we are doing” Malfoy reported.
“Nor will you, it is for me to know and you to obey. Now I hope you have been behaving yourself, I mean I wouldn't want you to do something you would later regret” Voldemort retorted with the same smile.
“Whatever do you mean my Lord, I assure you I have been a loyal servant” Draco replied with a bow.
“Good, guess you haven't attempted to gang rape my daughter this month then” Voldemort retorted with a look of hate and the same dark smile on his face.
“I...uhm...I ehh” Draco stuttered.
“Do not worry father, Harry made sure to teach him a lesson. Since then he has been quite the gentleman, or at least acted as one” Rose interjected.
Voldemort flashed a look of hatred as he heard the name of his enemy. “Crucio” he screamed as he cursed both his daughter and Draco. Both of them writhed in pain and wiggled on the floor.
“Rose, since when do you refer to my mortal enemy in such a casual manner. Could it be you have grown to have...feeling for the boy?” Voldemort asked as he released Rose but kept cursing Draco.
“No father, my loyalty lies with you as always” Rose replied composing herself. It had not been the first time she had been cursed by him, it would probably not be the last.
“Good, as for you, Draco, I will remind you that only I can harm MY PROPERTY. You should know better than to touch or damage that that belongs to me. Now then, Rose, tell me of Potter, what news of him” Voldemort inquired as he continued to torture Malfoy.
Rose smiled at Draco's pain, though something inside of her disliked the idea of him being tortured, the rest of her reveled in it. “The boy has been acting normaly, he is quite smitten with me. I have yet to learn his secrets, I hope to breach that inpass soon. He dissapears every once in a while, not even I his lover, or his best freinds know where. The only one that seem to know anything is Professor Canem” Rose explained.
“Ah yes, the Professor, I have ruled him out as a threat. I think he is nothing more than a cheap wizzard with a few shinny tricks and no talent at all. I have observed him, he is nothing but a fraud. No concer of mine. I hardly think he is of any use to the boy, Dumbledore was the last one that could have tought Potter anything of use. Now he is gone, and the boy is doomed. The plan shall come together by the end of the school year” Voldemort ranted still under the effects of Canem's spell. He had made it so that Voldemort thought little of him, that way his sight remained squarely on Harry.
“Yes father, your knowledge is greater than mine” Rose said submisively, she knew better than to try to argue with the Dark Lord once his mind was made up. Still, she found it odd that her father choose to ignore the mysteroious knowledge and power of Professor Canem. Also that if it was true that Canem was a fraud, that her father hadn't just killed him and been done with the whole thing.
“Indeed, that is all, you may return before you are missed” Voldemort said as he released the curse on Draco.
“Yes Master” both said, bowed, and then dissapeared.
Harry had been in the maze for a week now. He had made a routine where he would run for 20 hours and then sleep 4. The laberith kept shifting, he really had no idea where he was going. “There has to be a way, think Harry. There must be a way to gain the upper hand in this race” Harry thought as he rested. The running had taken it's toll. He had run into a couple of Wind People inside the maze, all as lost as he was. The maze was trecherous, just like a path could open out of nowhere, so could one close. Walls, floors, and ceiling would open and close randomly. Harry had almost been crushed several times.
Harry was done resting, thinking of the last couple of days did not encourage him. He got up and began to run again, his tired eyes seing through the wall, he saw how the power of wind flowed through all the walls, everchanging and wild like the wind was. “Maybe the answer is there” Harry thought as he tried draining the wind energy from the wall. “At least I should learn how to do it, doesn't seem like I will be able to win this race” Harry thought as he drained the energy from the wall. He could feel his body become lighter. He began to run, just like he had with fire, he felt a speed rush, but it was different. He felt less solid, but much faster. He started to run at full speed, soon he could sense the difference the halls were moving by alot faster. Left, right, left again, right, right he moved fast. He started to run on the walls. “This speed is incredible, this if bloody fun” Harry said to himself as he ran full speed forward now on the ceiling, his weightlessness and speed making him defy gravity itself.
His eyes moved fast looking for new paths in the dim lit darkness. Just then he saw a surge of energy, the walls were collapsing ahead. Harry tried to stop himself, but couldn't by the time he halted he was in the middle of a lager corridor that was now clossing in on both his sides. He tried to push against the walls, he felt much weaker though, he had no strength to push against the walls. The walls were clossing fast, he couldn't think of anything. “I am going to die” Harry said as he could no longer move with his body now pinned against the walls. The air was now being squeezed out of his lungs. The darkness began to overtake him, “This is the end of the Boy who lived, I am going to become a bloody sandwich” Harry thought. Silence... ”NOOOOOOOOOOOO” Harry screamed and the pushed hard against the wall, strenght he didnt know he had was raging in him.
The wall began to give to his strength. Light began to appear again, Harry pushed harder, his rage burning. “Fuck you, I refuse to be killed by a wall” Harry screamed and then punched the wall with all his strength, the wall slammed back into place. Now with a giant crater where Harry had hit it. “How the hell did i do that?” Harry asked himself and then looked at his hands, they were stone, literally. He had summoned the power of Earth without thinking it, he had drained the energy from the maze itself and destroyed the wall with it.
“I wonder” Harry said and then began to drain energy from the torches. Just as easily from what little fire it was Harry managed to draw all the energy he needed. The power of wind was strong but unpredictable, also he wasn't as good at using the energy as he was fire, he would need to practice more with wind, but for now he would settle to do so with fire. Harry began to run again, his speed was not as great as it had been with wind but his control was far greater. He ran at full speed and used walls to detain his pace and change directions. Harry continued like this for a few more days. It had been ten days since he had entered the maze. Harry turned a corner and a wall lowered behind him opening a path just as he went by. Just then Harry felt a rush of wind go past him.
“Well if it isn't the stupid human, my you have gotten far havent you?” said a familiar voice.
Harry looked up, and just above him hovered Tempus. Harry ignored him and began running again. He wanted to win. “If Tempus is here, then I must be on the right track...at least I think so” Harry said draining the speed of Wind again. “Now is as good a time as any, if I wanna win I need to go all out” Harry thought as he drained all he could and began to run faster.
Tempus was lost, but minutes later caught up with him and took the lead. “Foolish human, amazingly you apparently have learned to use the power of the wind, still you are no match for a natural like me” he said and then rushed ahead.
“We will see about that” Harry thought as he ran as fast as he could. He desperatly drained all the power he could from the walls, still all he could do was barely stay at champion's tail running at the same speed he was. Harry forgot about rest and he ate while running. Whenever Tempus slowed down he would too as to rest a bit. And so another day passed, Harry felt the end was near and drew hope from that as he ran.
Tempus on the other hand was growing inpatient with Harry's insistance. “Give it up human, you can't beat me” Tempus said looking back at Harry annoyed.
Harry could feel the uncertanty in his voice, Tempus was tired as well. Still all Harry could do was run behind him. “There has to be a way to move faster” Harry thought. He was already using all the power of wind he could. While his ability was getting better, it was still not enough, he needed more speed. Harry pondered this as he kept up with Tempus. He had a feeling that the answer was locked somewhere in his mind.
Tempus steadily grew more frustrated as the hours passed and he could not loose Harry. Finnaly he turned around and said, “Human this is the end of the line, you die here” Tempus said. Harry, who had stopped when Tempus did, was now being sorrounded by a gust of wind. Tempus was rapidly spinning around Harry's body. The gust quickly turned into a hurricane, Harry felt pressure all around him. He tried to move, but could not. The air grew thin, he could no longer breath. Harry tried to use force to move, he drained the power of Earth, he pushed and swung with his fists and feet, still the hurricane only grew stronger. “Foolish human, you have no hope of stopping me with brute strength” Tempus taunted.
“Bastard is right” Harry thought as his efforts were in vain, his fist were lost in the wind. “How do you fight the wind?” Harry asked himself. He started to loose conciousness, he couldn't breath. “Air, I need air” Harry thought. Then it hit him, “If I need air, shouldn't Tempus as well. I mean he is made of air, how is it he can breath?” Harry pondered. “He is draining the air from me with his speed, yet he must still breath. How can I choke him?” Harry asked himself, he didnt have much time. “Fire, fire consumes all. It will eat up all the air” Harry screamed. He then invoked every once of flame he could, he superheated his body, he wanted to become fire itself.
Tempus was quickly burning, the joy he had in Harry's demise was now horror. Harry was a fiery ball that was now consumming every once of air, including him. “What is this? How? Stop, the heat, I can't breath, please stop” he begged.
“No mercy, you treid to kill me, now die” Harry said as he raised the flames and engulfed the passage way in heat. Tempus lost his transperancy, he was becoming solid, a small wisp of a figure, like a line of smoke. Finnaly, he fell on the floor unconcious.
Harry, took pity on him and ran full speed. Just then he felt a gust of wind, the vacum had sucked some fresh air from the outside. Harry felt refreshed, and with new hope he ran faster. He saw the exit in the distance, he would reach it in a minute or two. He would finally get out of this maze, who knows, he might even win.
“Foolish human, I will wind” said the voice of Tempus. He flashed by Harry, totally recuperated. “You can't stop the wind, you can only slow it down” Tempus said as he moved full speed and started to loose Harry.
Harry drew on the power of wind now, yet he was still only moving at Tempus's pace, and now being he was behind. Tempus would win unless he came up with something fast. Harry was furious to loose, being this close. It was then when, he felt a rush of new speed, his rage was fueling his speed. He opened his eyes, he used his sight to see what had changed. “Am I using more of the power of Wind?” Harry pondered. But that wasnt the answer, it was then he saw it, he was using both the powers of fire and wind at the same time. His rage had drawn on the power of fire unconciously. Harry knew what to do, he concentrated hard on draining both powers, then ran full force. The new speed was amazing, he flashed forward, just as Tempus was about to reach the exit, Harry blasted through him. The sonic boom resounded as Harry blew out of the tunnel.
Harry was outside, he felt so free. He blasted past the crowd. He tried to slow down, finnally he stopped. He turned around and headed back, it was then he noticed something very intresting. “I am bloody flying!” Harry exclaimed surprised. Harnesing the power of Wind he now could fly without a broom. He flew towards the Sky Stadium, in the distance he heard something it was a whipser that grew louder as he approached.
“Amazing, he did it. Harry Potter has won, the human wins beating the former champion by a nose and beating his record in the process. 12 days and 7 hours” said the voice of the announcer.
Harry landed on the Stadium. “There he is Wind People, your new champion: Harry Potter”
One of the officials moved forward, he handed Harry his shirt and broom. “Here you go Mr. Potter, your broom and your wager. Now then let us go and collect your prize” he said and the pointed Harry towards a pile of object that were set on a table. Harry scanned them all, he could se rocks, cans, blocks of wood...basically a bunch of junk. The Stone was nowhere to be seen. “Oh ruddy hell, I went through all that for this...bloody garbage” Harry thought rather displeased with the outcome.
“The champion can't make up his mind. Must be hard to pick from all those tresures. Well then in the meantime let us hand him the ceremonial trophy. A relic that has been passed down for championg to champion every year” explained the annoncer as a cup was shoved into Harry's arms.
“Uff” Harry exhaled as he looked at the heavy and rather intricate cup that was deposited in his hands. Tempus looked on him sulkingly. Harry then notices something intresting in the middle of it. There was the stone of Wind engraved into the shield of Wind on the trophy.
Brises and his freinds came up behind Harry and shouted, “Congratulations Harry, we never thought you could pull it off” said Brises.
“Thanks...I think” Harry replied his attention on the stone. “Excuse me, official” Harry said as he approached the official at the table with the wagers. “I know what I want” he continued.
“Excelent, which of these fine prizes has caught your eye?” asked the official.
“This one” Harry said pointing at the trophy.
“I am afraid that is impossible Harry Potter, that trophy is a relic, we can't part with it” explained the official getting a bit upset.
“I don't want the whole thing, just this stone in the center would be enough. That is the only prize I want” Harry explained.
“I am afraid we can't let you have it. Why don't you take this nice shoe instead?” the official suggested.
“I am sorry, but I am taking this stone, wether you like it or not, this is comming with me” Harry replied angered.
“How dare you human, not only do you cheat me out of a victory, but now you want to desecreate our traditions. Let's kill him” Tempus screamed filled with envy.
Several Wind People launched themselves on Harry. Just then a barrier raised around Harry and a hurricane enveloped everything around him. “What the hell is going on now?” Harry exclaimed surpriesed.
“Now who amoung you wanted to kill Harry?” asked Axel as soon as the hurricane faded, he stood next to Harry looking rather irritated.
The Wind People kneeled in fear, “Master Canem, it has been ages since you came. We didn't know you would come, we would have made you a better reception” said one of the Wind People
“Don't dodge the question. I heard someone threaten my pupil, who was it?” Canem thundered.
“We are so sorry, we didn't know he was your pupil, we would have treated him better” whimpered another.
“Why do you cower before this man?” scremed Tempus. “It was I, so what” he added.
Axel extended his hand and Tempus was sucked into the shape of a small sphere. Then Canem crushed it with electricity in his fist. Then he threw the air marble and it exploded in the air. Tempus screamed in absolute agony as his body was ripped apart. Then compressed back to normal.
“Well then Harry, seems like you won the race. Take the Stone and let us be on our way” Canem instructed turning to Harry with a smile.
“Sure sounds like a plan to me” Harry said smilling back and taking the Stone from the trophy.
“Wait give me a sec, i want to do one thing first” Axel said and then flew over to the entrance of the maze.
“Axel, what are you doing? It took me days to get out of that maze” Harry informed.
“Boy, don't worry, Axel holds the record for beating the Sky Stadium” said an old Wind Person. “Tempus, you should know your place, this man has resoundadly beaten us all. He controls wind like if it was a toy. Those who know this do not dare challenge him” he added looking at Tempus.
Axel chuckled and dissapeared into the maze. A minute later he emerged at the other end. “Well that was fun, let us go then” he said and opened a portal infront of Harry.
“How did you do that?” Harry asked.
“I just am better and manipulating the elements that you, and WAY faster” Canem explained.
“I think you cheated and opened a portal” Harry said with a smile.
“Nope, I did it all on my own. Maybe one day you will too” Canem replied as he stepped through the portal.
Somehow, Harry knew not to doubt the man, with all that had Harry had seen. Canem was full of surprises, that was reality. Harry just shook his head and followed through the portal. “Four down, two to go” Harry said to himself as he ate the Stone of Wind and felt the rush of the power of Wind through his veins.
Yet ont the other hand was the reception they had from McGonagall when they reached the great doors of Hogwarts Castle. When Harry and the Black Marauders got out of their carriages, she met them at the doors.
“Mr. Potter, will you and your comerades be so kind as to follow me” she said in a tone that clearly indicated that she was giving them an order.
“Yes Headmistress” Harry replied for his group as he lead them behind McGonnagal. She lead them into a small room near the entrance and held the door open so that they would all step inside. When Neville who was at the back finally went through she closed the door.
“Please take a seat along with your friends” McGonnagal indicated to the couch.
Harry and the Black Marauders took a seat and look at each other somewhat uncomfortably.
“Headmistress what is this about?” Harry asked on behalf of the group.
Minerva sighed and then looked at Harry, “Mr. Potter, it is blatantly apparent that the only people here that don’t want you to keep misbehaving and pranking the school are me and the Slytherins. Frankly I find that disturbing on several levels. In any case I wanted to ask you to please behave yourselves. While most of you will be aways for 2 months for the Quidditch World Cup and Merlin have mercy on the organizers. You will still be spending three more months at this fine institution and I will not tolerate any more large pranks like those you have shown in the past. While I can’t prove you were involved I know it was you” she explained.
“But Headmistress that is hardly fair” Harry began but was cut off.
“Save it Mr. Potter, I simply wanted to put you and your Marauders on warning, anymore big pranks and you will find yourselves in A LOT of trouble. Now have a very good day and a fine end of year” Minerva said with finality and then left the room.
“Man whats her problem?” Seamus said breaking the brief silence.
“Harry you can’t possibly take her seriously” Ron stated.
“Oh yes he can, and WE will” Hermione commanded as she looked at Ron.
“Why do I have to listen to you?” Ron replied.
“Because if you don’t you can forget about our late night randevous” Hermione explained raising an eyebrow in annoyance.
“Huh?” Ron asked confused.
“It means your not getting any mate” Neville clarified.
“Oh, gotcha, why didn’t she just say it in English from the start:” Ron commented.
“I did use English Ron” Hermione responded getting more annoyed.
“Well I don’t think so, and in any case I will back whatever Harry does despite the…consequences” Ron said a bit nervously but with conviction at the end.
“Damn, well then you leave me no alternative. If you insist on this course of action I will have to take drastic measures” Hermione threatened.
“In English please” Ron replied with a smile.
Hermione got frustrated and grapped his robes close to the neck, “It means that if you do anything resembling a prank I will call your Mother and tell her about everything WE have done, and all the misbehaving you have done with Harry, and I do mean ALL” she concluded with vigor.
Ron was truly horrified, he looked to Harry for help.
“Sorry Ron, for your own health your going to be out of out pranks” Harry replied.
“Roger Snuffles will do” Ron said saluting his leader.
“In any case, we will be going on hiatus with the pranks till after the cup. Frankly since most of us are on the team I would rather avoid any trouble that McGonnagal throws our way. Who knows she might actually be stupid enough to ban us from competing” Harry commented.
“She wouldn’t, she knows we are England’s best chance at the Cup” Ginny interjected.
“She might but I would rather not run my chances” Harry replied.
“Come on Harry, you know you won’t be able to hold out of pranking the school in the last few months you will get to spend here” Rose said with a smile as she hugged her boyfriend from behind.
“Whoever said I wasn’t going to prank them. I’ll just wait till after we win the World Cup. Once she has that in her office she will let us do whatever the hell we want. We will be her favorites” Harry said with a grin.
Rose chuckled, “That’s the Snuffles we all know and love” she said and then kissed Harry.
“Really Harry, do you think Headmistress McGonagal is that shallow as to let you do whatever you want just cause you won a stupid tournament and got her a shinny cup to put in her office?” Hermione asked a bit put off by what Harry had said.
Everyone looked at each other then nodded vehemently and said, “YES” in unison then laughed.
Ron looked at Hermione and hugged her from behind “Love you need to understand that McGonagal is a HUGE Quidditch fan. She could have had Harry expelled for half the stuff he does, but the truth of the matter is that he delivers on the field. It has always taked something really extreme to have her go against her competitive sports nature and ban Harry from the field. If…I mean when Harry brings her the cup this time, it will be a free for all” Ron explained.
“Really Ron, you can’t be serious” Hermione said trying to deny it in her mind.
“Hermione really” Ron said giving her a look.
“Bloody hell, your right, however rare it is, your bloody right. Don’t know if to root for you to win or not. Frankly I was looking forward to some peace to study for the NEWTS” Hermione said acting angry.
Ron hugged her harder, his scent intoxicating her like she wanted. “You know you will root for us, cause you have a thing for the Keeper” he said sexily in her ear.
“True, he is a stud. But I’d rather have some fun with his “thing”” Hermione answered back as she raced to the room.
“Ah the chase” Ron said as he dashed after her.
Harry just laughed, “Ok guys, let’s go get settled in” he said as he walked out the door followed by his friends.
The first week flew by quickly, Sunday had rolled around and Harry was sitting by the fire just relaxing and loosing himself in the flame. Everyone was studying, or having fun or just sleeping. Yet Harry felt that something was…off. Maybe not so much off as more like something was going to happen. Shadow lay asleed on his chest and occasionally let out a growl and smoke came out of his nose. It just seemed wrong to Harry, this peace, it was wrong.
“Peace is never wrong, you just never have known it” Alexander said as he passed through the portrait.
“Still Axel, I know it won’t last. I know I must fight” Harry answered grimly not moving at all.
“All in due time, for now you should enjoy the moments of peace you have. One day you might have to live in complete peace, however will you survive the boredom” Axle replied chuckling.
“Really, I just can’t picture it. I don’t think I will live to see it, that is if it even comes” Harry replied stoicaly.
“Only time will tell, but you shouldn’t let that rule your life. Fight for peace, but prepare to live it as well. You can win Harry, you just need to believe” Axel replied.
“Easy for you to say, you are incredibly powerful. You should be fighting not me, you could probably end this all in one night” Harry said bitterly.
“Stop your bitching, I came to tell you to sleep well tonight. Tommorow meet me infront of the castle in the morning” Axel replied with a grave tone.
“The next Stone I take it” Harry commented as his site dug deep into the fire.
“Yes Harry, the war is coming. It is time for you to grow stronger, you will find the next stone to be very usefull at the World Cup” Axel explained.
“For some reason I don’t care. I’ll be there tomorrow” Harry said still motionless.
“Fuck this” Axel said and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly Harry was falling, he looked all around. There was nothing but night sky. Below him the ground was barely illuminated with lights. One thing was apparent, he was VERY high up in the air. He had no broom, and Shadow was gone.
“What the fuck?” Harry screamed not knowing what the hell was going on.
“Well Harry, I thought if you had this little faith in yourself, that I should do you a favor and just kill you now. That way you stop waisting my time and we can just hand the world over to Voldemort” Alexander said as he floated cross legged next to Harry as he fell.
“Fucking hell Axel, stop this shit and save me” Harry demanded
“Why, so you can bitch and moan some more. The world is counting on you, I’m not your nanny, I’m your teacher. I am not here to wipe your dippers, I am here to teach you to be a warrior. Have you forgeten why you are fighting?” Alexander asked as they continued to fall
“I fight to free the world of Voldemort” Harry replied.
“Wrong, you fight so that Voldemort won’t rape, pillage, and murder everything and everyone you love. You fight so that you never have to see another of your loved ones die like Albus and Sirius did. You fight because you’re the only one that can fight. So quit fucking whining, just focus on getting stronger and winning. Or should I just let you die now, that way Rose can go home to daddy with a nice Potter pancake as a tribute” Alexander replied with gravity in his tone.
Harry felt like shit, each word that Axel had spoken struck a cord. He knew Axel was right, once again he had fallen into self loathing and helplessness. He had forgeten all that was good in his life all that was right he knew what he had to do.
"Axel, your right, I am being an idiot. Get me down on land so I can get some sleep before tommorow" Harry requested as he no longer cared that the land was rushing towards him. He felt like he deserved to die for abandoning all hope and giving up before the fight.
"What do you plan to do tommorow?" Axel asked remaining calm next to Harry.
"Tommorow I am going to go get my fourth stone" Harry said with determination
Axel smiled and clicked his fingers, Harry was now back in his bed.
"Well said Harry, now get some rest, you will need it in the morning." Axel explained then began to leave the room.
"Hey Axel" Harry said as Axel began to leave. He turned around and looked at Harry. "Thanks for nearly killing me, I really needed that" Harry said with a smile.
Axel laughed, "No problem Harry, now get some rest" Axel instructed and then continued to leave. Just as he opened the door he turned around, "Oh almost forgot, bring your Black Supernova tommorow" Axel said and then left leaving Harry curious as to why he would need his broom.
Harry slept well and was all rested up the next morning when he got up and headed towards the lake to meet up with Axel. The day was young and the sun was barely up in the sky. He had remembered to bring his broom like the Professor had requested. "Man its cold outside" Harry murmured to himself in the foggy English air.
"Yes, it is rather unfortunate weather that is part of the year" Axel said appearing next to Harry.
Harry was no longer surprised by his mentor´s abilities. "So where am I off to?" Harry asked.
Axel opened the doorway, then looked at Harry. "You are heading to the world of Wind, a very unique place to say the least. Don´t focus on trying to beat anyone up, you can´t hurt them. Just keep close to your broom and beat them at their own game" Alexander instructed then pushed Harry through before he had a chance to ask anything.
"What the...?" Harry said as he went through the portal. Next thing he knew he was in very familiar circumstances. He was falling through the air. Harry looked down and could only see more sky and clouds all around. "This is bloody great, back where I started I suppose" Harry mumbled to himself then got on his broom and started to fly. "Well best not loose too much time. Now where could these guys be hidding the Stone of Wind?" Harry asked himself. He shrugged and started to race towards the ground, the problem was that after a while he noticed the ground was nowhere to be seen. He raced down even faster, holding back a bit in order to avoid hitting the ground by surprise. The clouds kept getting thicker reducing visibility. He was going decently fast when he saw something pop out in front of him. It almost looked human, yet Harry could not stop and rammed into it. More like he rammed right through it and kept on going.
"You bloody bastard, get your solid ass back here. You ran right through me, that is rather rude of you" Harry heard the figure scream into the wind. Harry finally managed to stop and turn around. He flew right up to the figure that was now joined by other creatures that looked just like him. He looked like a human ghost, only much clearer and solid looking. He looked more like his body was composed of air and his skin was like a golden film that covered him.
"Um, sorry about that. Didn´t see you there till it was too late" Harry apologized.
"Bloody hell you wouldnt considering how fast you were going." replied one of the creatures.
"Hope I didn´t hurt you" Harry continued.
The creatures laughed, "Human, you can´t hurt the wind people. We have not physical bodies, we are only wind essences. Still it tickles a little and is very rude to pass through one of us" replied another growing serious at the end.
"I suppose you were headed for the race" a third suggested.
"Umm, I don´t know. Actually I was looking for something. My name´s Harry Potter, I am here to find the Stone of Wind" Harry replied.
"Hum, well I have never heard of it. Still if you are looking for anything, the race is probably the best place to find it. My name is Ventis, these are my freinds Torentes, and Brises" explained Ventis.
"Nice to meet you, could you tell me a bit more about this race. Do you use it to decide who your King is or something?" Harry asked.
The wind peoples laughed again, "No Harry, we have a very wise and old king. No the race is to prove who is the fastest and luckiest amoung us. Anyone can compete, you just need to put up an object as the entrance fee. The winner gains a great amount of pride, he is celebrated as a hero for a whole year till the next competition. Additionally he not only takes home the trophy, but he gets to pick three of the objects that were put up as a entrance fees. The rest are returned to their owners" Brises explained.
"Well isn´t that a bit overdramatic, I mean I can understand the pride, but the prizes seem to be very low for such a race. I mean one could put up some preatty cheap object vs. another´s extremly valuable one" Harry suggested.
"Harry, all objects are precious in our world. As you can see we really don´t have that many solid things here. There is no land, only clouds, frankly anything solid is considered a great treasure to us" Torentes explained.
"I see. In that case I see why you think the race is the best place to look for the Stone" Harry replied. "There will be a comming together of a great amount of solid objects. So what are the rules for this competetion?" Harry asked.
"Well the race happens is in one week and takes place inside the sky stadium" Ventis began to explain.
"Sky Stadium?" Harry asked.
"Yea, it is the only solid structure in our world, normally we just live on clouds. Anyway the race takes place inside of it, it is preaty impressive, you have to see it to belive it. So once inside the goal is to get through the maze and through the finish line first. The problem is that the mazes are everchanging that is why this is a race of speed and luck, you need both to win. You could be stuck inside forever if your not careful. Some Wind People have been stuck inside for years before they get out" Ventis continued.
Harry was having a not so pleasent flashback to the last event of the Tri Wizzard Cup. Since then he had taken a small disliking to mazes. "What was the fastest time to ever go through it?" Harry asked.
"Well as far as I can remember it would be our present champion, Tempus. He completed the race in 13 days and 11 hours. I think there have been faster times, but usually its somewhere around two weeks" Ventis replied.
Harry chuckled, "Just great. Axel did say to beat them at their own game" Harry thought to himself. "So Ventis how do I get to the stadium?" Harry asked.
"Just follow us, we will take you there. I must warn you though, you don´t have a shot in hell of winning. The champs unbeatable, plus you can´t fly" Torentes replied.
"Torentes, give the boy some slack, he could still make a decent showing" Ventis replied smilling.
"Well then boy, follow us, we were planning to go anyways to watch the tournament" Brises added.
Harry did so and as he followed them he couldnt help thinking how similar this felt to all his other adventures, yet at the same time very different. He also felt like he was going down, it was hard to tell as there was no land that could be seen. The time seemed to fly as the nights and days went passed. Harry slept on his broom. He marveled at how large the planet was. He wondered how long it would take him to fly around it at full speed in his Black Supernova. Frankly he would have tried if not for his fear of getting lost. Finnaly, after a week of flying he finally saw it, in the distance was a massive cube, it was as big as a city. All around it many wind people floated in the air and talked.
“This is it Harry, this is the start of the race. Good luck, you are defenetly going to need it” Brises told Harry.
“Thanks Brises, I think. Thank you all for showing me the way here” Harry replied looking at his travel companions.
Harry flew over towards where the competitors were linning up to register. After a week of traveling and a half hour of waiting in line, he was finnaly infront of the officials. He was also finnaly standing of something solid, the cube seemed to have gravity so we walked up to the table where the official awaited.
“Intresting, a human, it has been a while since we saw one race” said the official. “What is your name?”
“Harry Potter” he replied.
“Excelent, well then, what will you be wagering?” the official asked.
“You can take my shirt” Harry said as he took his off.
“Hum, a very tempting wager, ok then, your shirt shall do” he said as he took Harry´s shirt and placed it in a pile with the other objects being wagered. “Now then, I must also take your flying broom, those are not allowed in the competition” he added.
Harry was stunned, “How am I to race then?” he asked.
“You run my dear boy, you run. This is the very center of our planet and therefore we have very odd gravity, one would say it is like flying without a broom, you never know which way the gravity will shift, therefore you could very well be able to walk up walls” the official explained.
“Oh well, whatever. Here you go” Harry said handing over his broom, then walked towards the entrance where every competitor awaited the start. “This is just great, leave it to fate to give me a hard task in order to get my bloody stond. I mean come on a ruddy maze, I really do hate them” Harry thought. All of a sudden a gust of wind knocked him on his face.
“So it is true, a stupid humand has actually come to race” said a rather arrogant voice.
“May I ask who the bloody hell you are and why you pushed me?” Harry asked annoyed.
“The name is Tempus, and I am the reigning champion of this race. And i pushed you because your kind is not welcome here” Tempus replied.
Harry chuckled, “I really don´t give a crap who you are. I will beat you, you really have now bit off more than you can chew” Harry said as he walked over to the starting point not giving Tempus the slightest indication of fear.
Tempus fummed and stormed off...quite literally, “Human when I win i will take your shirt, it should be easy. You have no way of winning this” he said as he flew to the start.
“Your attention please” said an official as he stood before the entrance. “The race is about to begin, racers to the starting line” he called out.
Many Wind People lined up infront of the gate, Tempus was at the front with many others. They all looked focused, some looked nervous but all looked ready. Harry was ready too, he would use evey ounce of his speed to get through the exit gate first.
“Ready, set,... GO” screamed the official and the race was off. Harry ran at full speed, he got passed a few, but then just as quickly he was the last one there. The Wind People had moved unbelievably fast, so fast that Harry could not keep sight of them. “So this is the power of the Wind” Harry thought to himself as he turned on his Kivide. Time stopped as it always did, Harry moved at his full speed, he entered the laberyth, his eyes peering deep through the dark, torched lit up the inside of the maze. Harry could still see the slowest of the Wind People infront of him throught the walls. Even with his power, their speed was equal to his own. “This is not good” Harry thought. He knew he couldn´t use his full speed for long periods of time, he would run out of energy and the only way that he could keep up with them all was to run at this speed. “I guess i'll just have to rely on my eyesight to help me pick the quickest paths and avoid dead ends. That and some luck and I might just win” Harry thought.
Back at Hogwarts, the Dark Mark burned on Draco's arm and on Rose's ankle. They both moved quickly and stealthely to the outside of Hogwarts. It was then they saw each other as they exited the castle.
“Afternoon Malfoy, what an unfortunate event it is to see you” Rose comented as she ran to the gates of Hogwarts.
“Indeed, Riddle, it is such a pain to see you as well. What not bringing your boyfreind so that he can get a shot at killing your dad? I would have thought by now he would be acompanying you, that way you can try and bind him while Potter kills him” Malfoy retorted.
“Oh shut it, you know where my loyalties lie” Rose replied as she reached the gate and exited the school grouds.
“Oh I do, I just wonder if you do or you just think you do” Malfoy said as he touched his mark and was instantly transported before the Voldemort himself.
Rose was confused by what Malfoy had said, but thought nothing more of it. She touched her mark as well and was transported before her father.
Voldemort stared at the pair through icy red eyes, eyes with no love but pure hatred stared at the pair.
“Hello Draco, how are things?” Voldemort asked with a wry smile on his face.
“Nothing to report my Lord, at least nothing we haven't already reported already. Professor Canem teaches the Slitherins and the Ravenclaws seperatly. He is taking the team to the Youth Quidditch Tournament, and the mission you gave us has been progressing without a hitch, though I still don't know what we are doing” Malfoy reported.
“Nor will you, it is for me to know and you to obey. Now I hope you have been behaving yourself, I mean I wouldn't want you to do something you would later regret” Voldemort retorted with the same smile.
“Whatever do you mean my Lord, I assure you I have been a loyal servant” Draco replied with a bow.
“Good, guess you haven't attempted to gang rape my daughter this month then” Voldemort retorted with a look of hate and the same dark smile on his face.
“I...uhm...I ehh” Draco stuttered.
“Do not worry father, Harry made sure to teach him a lesson. Since then he has been quite the gentleman, or at least acted as one” Rose interjected.
Voldemort flashed a look of hatred as he heard the name of his enemy. “Crucio” he screamed as he cursed both his daughter and Draco. Both of them writhed in pain and wiggled on the floor.
“Rose, since when do you refer to my mortal enemy in such a casual manner. Could it be you have grown to have...feeling for the boy?” Voldemort asked as he released Rose but kept cursing Draco.
“No father, my loyalty lies with you as always” Rose replied composing herself. It had not been the first time she had been cursed by him, it would probably not be the last.
“Good, as for you, Draco, I will remind you that only I can harm MY PROPERTY. You should know better than to touch or damage that that belongs to me. Now then, Rose, tell me of Potter, what news of him” Voldemort inquired as he continued to torture Malfoy.
Rose smiled at Draco's pain, though something inside of her disliked the idea of him being tortured, the rest of her reveled in it. “The boy has been acting normaly, he is quite smitten with me. I have yet to learn his secrets, I hope to breach that inpass soon. He dissapears every once in a while, not even I his lover, or his best freinds know where. The only one that seem to know anything is Professor Canem” Rose explained.
“Ah yes, the Professor, I have ruled him out as a threat. I think he is nothing more than a cheap wizzard with a few shinny tricks and no talent at all. I have observed him, he is nothing but a fraud. No concer of mine. I hardly think he is of any use to the boy, Dumbledore was the last one that could have tought Potter anything of use. Now he is gone, and the boy is doomed. The plan shall come together by the end of the school year” Voldemort ranted still under the effects of Canem's spell. He had made it so that Voldemort thought little of him, that way his sight remained squarely on Harry.
“Yes father, your knowledge is greater than mine” Rose said submisively, she knew better than to try to argue with the Dark Lord once his mind was made up. Still, she found it odd that her father choose to ignore the mysteroious knowledge and power of Professor Canem. Also that if it was true that Canem was a fraud, that her father hadn't just killed him and been done with the whole thing.
“Indeed, that is all, you may return before you are missed” Voldemort said as he released the curse on Draco.
“Yes Master” both said, bowed, and then dissapeared.
Harry had been in the maze for a week now. He had made a routine where he would run for 20 hours and then sleep 4. The laberith kept shifting, he really had no idea where he was going. “There has to be a way, think Harry. There must be a way to gain the upper hand in this race” Harry thought as he rested. The running had taken it's toll. He had run into a couple of Wind People inside the maze, all as lost as he was. The maze was trecherous, just like a path could open out of nowhere, so could one close. Walls, floors, and ceiling would open and close randomly. Harry had almost been crushed several times.
Harry was done resting, thinking of the last couple of days did not encourage him. He got up and began to run again, his tired eyes seing through the wall, he saw how the power of wind flowed through all the walls, everchanging and wild like the wind was. “Maybe the answer is there” Harry thought as he tried draining the wind energy from the wall. “At least I should learn how to do it, doesn't seem like I will be able to win this race” Harry thought as he drained the energy from the wall. He could feel his body become lighter. He began to run, just like he had with fire, he felt a speed rush, but it was different. He felt less solid, but much faster. He started to run at full speed, soon he could sense the difference the halls were moving by alot faster. Left, right, left again, right, right he moved fast. He started to run on the walls. “This speed is incredible, this if bloody fun” Harry said to himself as he ran full speed forward now on the ceiling, his weightlessness and speed making him defy gravity itself.
His eyes moved fast looking for new paths in the dim lit darkness. Just then he saw a surge of energy, the walls were collapsing ahead. Harry tried to stop himself, but couldn't by the time he halted he was in the middle of a lager corridor that was now clossing in on both his sides. He tried to push against the walls, he felt much weaker though, he had no strength to push against the walls. The walls were clossing fast, he couldn't think of anything. “I am going to die” Harry said as he could no longer move with his body now pinned against the walls. The air was now being squeezed out of his lungs. The darkness began to overtake him, “This is the end of the Boy who lived, I am going to become a bloody sandwich” Harry thought. Silence... ”NOOOOOOOOOOOO” Harry screamed and the pushed hard against the wall, strenght he didnt know he had was raging in him.
The wall began to give to his strength. Light began to appear again, Harry pushed harder, his rage burning. “Fuck you, I refuse to be killed by a wall” Harry screamed and then punched the wall with all his strength, the wall slammed back into place. Now with a giant crater where Harry had hit it. “How the hell did i do that?” Harry asked himself and then looked at his hands, they were stone, literally. He had summoned the power of Earth without thinking it, he had drained the energy from the maze itself and destroyed the wall with it.
“I wonder” Harry said and then began to drain energy from the torches. Just as easily from what little fire it was Harry managed to draw all the energy he needed. The power of wind was strong but unpredictable, also he wasn't as good at using the energy as he was fire, he would need to practice more with wind, but for now he would settle to do so with fire. Harry began to run again, his speed was not as great as it had been with wind but his control was far greater. He ran at full speed and used walls to detain his pace and change directions. Harry continued like this for a few more days. It had been ten days since he had entered the maze. Harry turned a corner and a wall lowered behind him opening a path just as he went by. Just then Harry felt a rush of wind go past him.
“Well if it isn't the stupid human, my you have gotten far havent you?” said a familiar voice.
Harry looked up, and just above him hovered Tempus. Harry ignored him and began running again. He wanted to win. “If Tempus is here, then I must be on the right track...at least I think so” Harry said draining the speed of Wind again. “Now is as good a time as any, if I wanna win I need to go all out” Harry thought as he drained all he could and began to run faster.
Tempus was lost, but minutes later caught up with him and took the lead. “Foolish human, amazingly you apparently have learned to use the power of the wind, still you are no match for a natural like me” he said and then rushed ahead.
“We will see about that” Harry thought as he ran as fast as he could. He desperatly drained all the power he could from the walls, still all he could do was barely stay at champion's tail running at the same speed he was. Harry forgot about rest and he ate while running. Whenever Tempus slowed down he would too as to rest a bit. And so another day passed, Harry felt the end was near and drew hope from that as he ran.
Tempus on the other hand was growing inpatient with Harry's insistance. “Give it up human, you can't beat me” Tempus said looking back at Harry annoyed.
Harry could feel the uncertanty in his voice, Tempus was tired as well. Still all Harry could do was run behind him. “There has to be a way to move faster” Harry thought. He was already using all the power of wind he could. While his ability was getting better, it was still not enough, he needed more speed. Harry pondered this as he kept up with Tempus. He had a feeling that the answer was locked somewhere in his mind.
Tempus steadily grew more frustrated as the hours passed and he could not loose Harry. Finnaly he turned around and said, “Human this is the end of the line, you die here” Tempus said. Harry, who had stopped when Tempus did, was now being sorrounded by a gust of wind. Tempus was rapidly spinning around Harry's body. The gust quickly turned into a hurricane, Harry felt pressure all around him. He tried to move, but could not. The air grew thin, he could no longer breath. Harry tried to use force to move, he drained the power of Earth, he pushed and swung with his fists and feet, still the hurricane only grew stronger. “Foolish human, you have no hope of stopping me with brute strength” Tempus taunted.
“Bastard is right” Harry thought as his efforts were in vain, his fist were lost in the wind. “How do you fight the wind?” Harry asked himself. He started to loose conciousness, he couldn't breath. “Air, I need air” Harry thought. Then it hit him, “If I need air, shouldn't Tempus as well. I mean he is made of air, how is it he can breath?” Harry pondered. “He is draining the air from me with his speed, yet he must still breath. How can I choke him?” Harry asked himself, he didnt have much time. “Fire, fire consumes all. It will eat up all the air” Harry screamed. He then invoked every once of flame he could, he superheated his body, he wanted to become fire itself.
Tempus was quickly burning, the joy he had in Harry's demise was now horror. Harry was a fiery ball that was now consumming every once of air, including him. “What is this? How? Stop, the heat, I can't breath, please stop” he begged.
“No mercy, you treid to kill me, now die” Harry said as he raised the flames and engulfed the passage way in heat. Tempus lost his transperancy, he was becoming solid, a small wisp of a figure, like a line of smoke. Finnaly, he fell on the floor unconcious.
Harry, took pity on him and ran full speed. Just then he felt a gust of wind, the vacum had sucked some fresh air from the outside. Harry felt refreshed, and with new hope he ran faster. He saw the exit in the distance, he would reach it in a minute or two. He would finally get out of this maze, who knows, he might even win.
“Foolish human, I will wind” said the voice of Tempus. He flashed by Harry, totally recuperated. “You can't stop the wind, you can only slow it down” Tempus said as he moved full speed and started to loose Harry.
Harry drew on the power of wind now, yet he was still only moving at Tempus's pace, and now being he was behind. Tempus would win unless he came up with something fast. Harry was furious to loose, being this close. It was then when, he felt a rush of new speed, his rage was fueling his speed. He opened his eyes, he used his sight to see what had changed. “Am I using more of the power of Wind?” Harry pondered. But that wasnt the answer, it was then he saw it, he was using both the powers of fire and wind at the same time. His rage had drawn on the power of fire unconciously. Harry knew what to do, he concentrated hard on draining both powers, then ran full force. The new speed was amazing, he flashed forward, just as Tempus was about to reach the exit, Harry blasted through him. The sonic boom resounded as Harry blew out of the tunnel.
Harry was outside, he felt so free. He blasted past the crowd. He tried to slow down, finnally he stopped. He turned around and headed back, it was then he noticed something very intresting. “I am bloody flying!” Harry exclaimed surprised. Harnesing the power of Wind he now could fly without a broom. He flew towards the Sky Stadium, in the distance he heard something it was a whipser that grew louder as he approached.
“Amazing, he did it. Harry Potter has won, the human wins beating the former champion by a nose and beating his record in the process. 12 days and 7 hours” said the voice of the announcer.
Harry landed on the Stadium. “There he is Wind People, your new champion: Harry Potter”
One of the officials moved forward, he handed Harry his shirt and broom. “Here you go Mr. Potter, your broom and your wager. Now then let us go and collect your prize” he said and the pointed Harry towards a pile of object that were set on a table. Harry scanned them all, he could se rocks, cans, blocks of wood...basically a bunch of junk. The Stone was nowhere to be seen. “Oh ruddy hell, I went through all that for this...bloody garbage” Harry thought rather displeased with the outcome.
“The champion can't make up his mind. Must be hard to pick from all those tresures. Well then in the meantime let us hand him the ceremonial trophy. A relic that has been passed down for championg to champion every year” explained the annoncer as a cup was shoved into Harry's arms.
“Uff” Harry exhaled as he looked at the heavy and rather intricate cup that was deposited in his hands. Tempus looked on him sulkingly. Harry then notices something intresting in the middle of it. There was the stone of Wind engraved into the shield of Wind on the trophy.
Brises and his freinds came up behind Harry and shouted, “Congratulations Harry, we never thought you could pull it off” said Brises.
“Thanks...I think” Harry replied his attention on the stone. “Excuse me, official” Harry said as he approached the official at the table with the wagers. “I know what I want” he continued.
“Excelent, which of these fine prizes has caught your eye?” asked the official.
“This one” Harry said pointing at the trophy.
“I am afraid that is impossible Harry Potter, that trophy is a relic, we can't part with it” explained the official getting a bit upset.
“I don't want the whole thing, just this stone in the center would be enough. That is the only prize I want” Harry explained.
“I am afraid we can't let you have it. Why don't you take this nice shoe instead?” the official suggested.
“I am sorry, but I am taking this stone, wether you like it or not, this is comming with me” Harry replied angered.
“How dare you human, not only do you cheat me out of a victory, but now you want to desecreate our traditions. Let's kill him” Tempus screamed filled with envy.
Several Wind People launched themselves on Harry. Just then a barrier raised around Harry and a hurricane enveloped everything around him. “What the hell is going on now?” Harry exclaimed surpriesed.
“Now who amoung you wanted to kill Harry?” asked Axel as soon as the hurricane faded, he stood next to Harry looking rather irritated.
The Wind People kneeled in fear, “Master Canem, it has been ages since you came. We didn't know you would come, we would have made you a better reception” said one of the Wind People
“Don't dodge the question. I heard someone threaten my pupil, who was it?” Canem thundered.
“We are so sorry, we didn't know he was your pupil, we would have treated him better” whimpered another.
“Why do you cower before this man?” scremed Tempus. “It was I, so what” he added.
Axel extended his hand and Tempus was sucked into the shape of a small sphere. Then Canem crushed it with electricity in his fist. Then he threw the air marble and it exploded in the air. Tempus screamed in absolute agony as his body was ripped apart. Then compressed back to normal.
“Well then Harry, seems like you won the race. Take the Stone and let us be on our way” Canem instructed turning to Harry with a smile.
“Sure sounds like a plan to me” Harry said smilling back and taking the Stone from the trophy.
“Wait give me a sec, i want to do one thing first” Axel said and then flew over to the entrance of the maze.
“Axel, what are you doing? It took me days to get out of that maze” Harry informed.
“Boy, don't worry, Axel holds the record for beating the Sky Stadium” said an old Wind Person. “Tempus, you should know your place, this man has resoundadly beaten us all. He controls wind like if it was a toy. Those who know this do not dare challenge him” he added looking at Tempus.
Axel chuckled and dissapeared into the maze. A minute later he emerged at the other end. “Well that was fun, let us go then” he said and opened a portal infront of Harry.
“How did you do that?” Harry asked.
“I just am better and manipulating the elements that you, and WAY faster” Canem explained.
“I think you cheated and opened a portal” Harry said with a smile.
“Nope, I did it all on my own. Maybe one day you will too” Canem replied as he stepped through the portal.
Somehow, Harry knew not to doubt the man, with all that had Harry had seen. Canem was full of surprises, that was reality. Harry just shook his head and followed through the portal. “Four down, two to go” Harry said to himself as he ate the Stone of Wind and felt the rush of the power of Wind through his veins.