Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

Without any warning or mental preparation, Hermione felt as if she had been violently stuffed into the churning drum of a massive washing machine. The world in front of her eyes spun in nauseating colors into one another like watercolors in the rain, while fierce, howling filled her ears with intensity!

This sudden change made her scream uncontrollably. The violent fluctuation of magical energy coursing through her body caused her shimmering tail fin to transform back into two ordinary human legs with a sensation like lightning crackling through her bones.

The protective bubble that had been covering her head burst with an audible pop, leaving her gasping and vulnerable. In the midst of this chaotic turmoil, all she could do was grip tightly to Harry and Ron with determination.

When the world finally, mercifully stabilized after what felt like an eternity of spinning terror, Hermione discovered with alarm that Harry and Ron weren't the only ones who had been transported with her through this mysterious magical phenomenon.

Krum and Fleur's most important people—little Gabrielle, and Professor Karkaroff were also beside her, looking equally disoriented and confused.

The crushing, suffocating pressure of deep water suddenly vanished as if it had never existed. When air thick with fishy dampness and the musty scent of decay rushed into their nostrils, the pale-faced "treasures" gradually began to regain consciousness, their eyelids fluttering as awareness slowly returned to their minds.

The magical ropes that had been binding them to the underwater posts loosened and fell away.

Harry blinked repeatedly, trying desperately to clear the haze from his vision, but no matter how hard he tried or how many times he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, everything remained frustratingly blurry.

Then, with a flash of understanding, he realized it was the countless water droplets clinging to his glasses that were obscuring everything, creating a distorted, watery view of the world around him.

After carefully removing his d glasses with trembling fingers and wiping them thoroughly on his damp robes, Harry quickly put them back on to observe their new situation with concern.

The first thing he saw was Ron beside him, looking pale and confused as he used his toes to tentatively tap what appeared to be a gray rocky platform they were all standing on.

"You did it, Hermione! You successfully brought me and Ron up from the lake bottom!" Harry exclaimed with happiness and relief, quickly moving to steady Hermione's arm as she swayed dizzily from the aftereffects of their magical transportation.

He gave her a few gentle, reassuring shakes, his eyes bright with gratitude and concern. "What place did you finish in the competition?"

But after asking this question, Harry's expression began to change as he realized something was terribly wrong.

Gabrielle and Karkaroff were here too, which didn't make sense according to the tournament rules, and more disturbingly, they weren't at the familiar edge of the Black Lake—they weren't even at Hogwarts Castle, which should have been their destination.

This wasn't Hogwarts at all, and it might not even be anywhere on the Hogwarts grounds, because even the mountains that surrounded the castle were completely gone.

Instead, the platform stood ominously in the center of a dark, overgrown graveyard that seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions. To the right, Harry could make out the black silhouette of a small, crumbling church lurking behind a massive, ancient yew tree. To the left stretched a hill, and Harry could vaguely make out the outline of an old house perched on the slope.

Above them, dark clouds rolled across the sky, and the light was as dim and oppressive as nightfall. This didn't make any sense—when Professor McGonagall had woken him at dawn for the second task, the sky outside the castle windows had been clear and full of vibrant life, promising what should have been a beautiful day for the tournament.

For no apparent reason that he could identify, a strong sense of foreboding filled Harry's heart, spreading through his chest like ice water and making his breathing shallow and rapid.

"Hermione?" Harry looked toward her with concern, noticing that she was staring at the tombstones with a trembling body, her brown eyes looked filled with fear and confusion.

"I don't know, Harry. I... the moment I touched you and Ron, we... we must have activated some kind of Portkey for instantaneous travel," Hermione's voice was filled with bewildered helplessness, each word trembling with uncertainty. "But I don't understand how or why. This shouldn't be possible during the tournament."

"Nonsense!"

The only adult on the platform spoke up sharply.

Karkaroff's eyes also showed alarm, but he glared viciously at Hermione as if she were personally responsible for their predicament.

"I've never heard of the second task involving Portkeys! What kind of game is Hogwarts playing with us, or is this another one of Watson's brilliant ideas that he came up with on the spot to show off?!"

When Karkaroff mentioned Professor Watson, the obvious contempt and disdain in his voice drew immediate angry looks from all three Hogwarts students. Their faces darkened with indignation at the insult to their beloved professor.

But in this ominuous looking situation, Karkaroff couldn't care less about three young wizards' displeasure. He roughly pushed past Ron, who was unconsciously blocking his path, and walked with determined strides down the stone steps from the platform.

Standing at the base of the platform, Karkaroff surveyed their eerie surroundings. The confusion and concern in his eyes made the three students begin to reluctantly believe that this Durmstrang headmaster, who had history of connections to dark magic, truly had no idea what was happening to them.

"Actually, he has a point—" Ron didn't want Karkaroff to think he was agreeing with the man's insulting tone, so he whispered quietly to Harry and Hermione, careful to keep his voice low, "Professor Watson does like to create unexpected 'surprises' for his students. Remember those Inferi?"

"But he usually gives us hints or warnings beforehand," Harry countered with a frown, his voice carrying doubt. He forced a reassuring smile at Gabrielle, who stood behind them looking pale-faced and shivering, her small body trembling as if she were terrified and didn't know what to do in this strange, frightening place.

Then he immediately noticed something new that made his heart sink.

"Just us?" Harry asked with concern. "What about Cedric and his group, and Krum? Shouldn't they be here too if this is part of the tournament?"

After being exposed to the cold air, their athletic wear immediately dried with an almost supernatural speed, but their hair remained damp and uncomfortable.

The cold was so intense that frost had actually formed on Hermione's bushy hair strands, creating tiny ice crystals that glittered in the dim light. Hermione shook her head vigorously, as if trying to dispel her confusion and make sense of their situation.

"When I finally found you and Ron at the merperson village, Cedric and Cho Chang were already gone—they must have completed their rescue and returned to the surface," She explained, her voice still shaky from their ordeal.

"Krum... he was completely exhausted by a persistent kappa and fell behind me. I tried to help him, but he insisted I go on. As for Fleur, I never saw her at all during the underwater portion of the task."

"Oh!" Ron raised his eyebrows with obvious interest, looking somewhat pleased as he glanced meaningfully at Karkaroff, who appeared indifferent but was actually eavesdropping intently on their conversation.

"I guess this must be the second stage of the competition—champions and their most important people facing challenges together. That's very much Professor Watson's innovative style, isn't it? But unfortunately for some people," He added with a pointed look at Karkaroff, "someone fell behind and isn't qualified for this second stage!"

Karkaroff's expression immediately turned vicious and threatening. He whirled around to glare at Ron with malice, baring his yellowed teeth in what might have been a snarl, and said coldly,

"Boy, if Watson really came up with such a stupid, reckless scheme, then unfortunately for all of us, this competition will be deemed completely invalid because he changed the event structure and rules without my official consent as a fellow headmaster!"

"Professor Watson's plans don't need your consent!" Ron retorted, though he couldn't quite withstand Karkaroff's intimidating gaze, which seemed to bore into his soul. Harry immediately stepped forward protectively, meeting Karkaroff with an equally cold stare.

After a brief but intense standoff that stretched for few seconds, both withdrew their gazes.

"We'll see about that," Karkaroff said through gritted teeth, his voice carrying a clear threat. "If this really is Watson's doing, there will be consequences."

"Shouldn't we look around and try to figure out where we are?" Ron suggested, attempting to break the tension in the air.

The cold, eerie tombstones standing in the sinister mist reminded him vividly of that challenging test in Defense Against the Dark Arts class during his second year, when he had been completely defeated by the terrifying Inferi that Professor Watson had brought.

The memory still made him shudder, but now, he seemed to have a chance to prove himself again and show that he had learned from that humiliating experience.

"If this really is part of the test and not some kind of terrible accident, we can't let that Hufflepuff pretty boy steal all the glory, can we?" Ron said with forced enthusiasm, trying to mask his fear.

No one responded to Ron's attempt at lightheartedness, and both Karkaroff and Harry had the worst expressions of all—they both had a vague but sense of impending disaster that seemed to whisper warnings in their ears.

"Let's look around first and gather information," Hermione said cautiously, pressing her lips together in concentration, only speaking after Ron began to feel embarrassed by the lack of response to his comments. "We can't just stand here stupidly waiting for something to happen, can we? Come on, Gabrielle, you can stay close to us. We'll protect you."

The group gradually went down from the stone platform. After Hermione gently helped the seemingly paralyzed Gabrielle down the steps as well, treating the younger girl with motherly care, she immediately formed a defensive formation with Harry and Ron—a tactical arrangement they had practiced in their physical education classes under Professor Watson's guidance.

Although Ron's evasion skills still weren't up to the standard they needed, Harry was eager to practice this formation with him in a real situation.

Karkaroff glanced disdainfully at the three youngsters in their defensive formation, clearly unimpressed by their amateur tactics. He planned to break away from them and act on his own, believing his superior magical knowledge and experience would serve him better than relying on children. But for some unknown reason, perhaps recognizing the wisdom of numbers in an unknown situation, he ultimately didn't leave the group.

Tombstones emanating the aura of death stood on crooked grave mounds that seemed to have been disturbed recently, the earth around them was dark and loose.

With Harry and Hermione as the vanguard, their wands ready and their eyes constantly scanning for threats, and Ron as the rear guard, nervously checking behind them every few steps, the three moved step by careful step around two connected graves until a Y-shaped fork appeared in front of them like a crossroads of destiny.

At the roadside stood a path with withered, decaying branches that connected to many more tombstones disappearing into the mist, while another path led upward toward the hill, toward the old mansion perched on the ridge.

"Which way should we go?" Harry kept his gaze focused forward, only slightly turning his head so his peripheral vision could catch Hermione's response while maintaining his vigilant watch.

Hermione frowned slightly in concentration as she was uncertain for a moment about the best course of action.

Logically speaking, if this really was a large-scale exploration mission designed to test their abilities, the old mansion would obviously be the more likely objective, given its prominence and the way it dominated the landscape.

But this tombstone path shrouded in thick, supernatural mist could very well be the correct direction, especially if the event organizers intended for them to face Inferi or other creatures that would be found in such a place.

No one consulted Karkaroff's opinion, even though he was undoubtedly the most magically accomplished and experienced among them.

The three Hogwarts students all clearly understood that this cold observer probably had the despicable intention of using them to test for dangers, letting them spring any traps or face any threats first while he remained safely behind.

"We should—" After difficult consideration, weighing the pros and cons of each path, Hermione pointed toward the ridge where the mansion stood, reasoning that the elevated position would provide a more open view of their surroundings.

If Cedric and Cho Chang had already reached this mysterious place first, they should be easily spotted from that vantage point.

"Listen!" But just as Hermione was about to say her considered decision, Ron suddenly looked absolutely terrified, his face draining of all color as each word trembled from his lips with genuine fear.

The terror in his voice even made his suppressed whisper sound like he was on the verge of crying. "Someone's crying... it's a female ghost! I can hear her weeping!"

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