Kai spent most of his Christmas holidays in the White Serpent Tower’s Throne Hall, holding his head.
Christmas holidays had already been canceled by the School with the Triwizard Tournant in sight. And before the next term started, all would know who would represent the two groups of Hogwarts.
In between, Kai had specific plans to carry out with not only swiftness but pinpoint accuracy.
The most important among those plans was to obtain another Horcrux.
This ti, Kai had been aiming to get at least three Horcruxes at the sa ti, by sending himself in one Cursed Vault, Black in another, and the rest of the squad in the last.
If the White Serpent Pirates died in the third Cursed Vault then... well, then nothing. So be it.
Kai wanted to push them beyond their limits; igniting their hidden potential. Of course, he would have sent them with enough power-up.
Turning them all into Demons; and Selene, perhaps?
It wasn’t like Kai had beco too strong since the last ti he had fought Black Ghost, who had almost killed him.
It was just that Kai had decided to end it fast this ti, using the Heroic Items bestowed by the Tiline.
With one of them already dead, Kai knew the rest of the four 12th-floor Contestants would have made ample preparations for his arrival.
In that case, it would be wise to deal the heaviest blow right off the bat.
However, Herpo the Foul’s appearance sent those plans rolling into the dust.
Even if Death had assured him that Herpo the Foul would not ddle with him going for the Horcruxes, HE hadn’t given him an explanation. That troubled Kai the most.
Not to ntion, even if Herpo the Foul didn’t ddle, then what about rlin and the rest of the Order of the Immortal Lotus?
Now they knew about the Outer One being supported by Death and the Tiline.
They would be coming at him with all they got, resurrecting one hidden card after another.
Then there was the fact that they knew he would be going to the Cursed Vaults.
At first, they must have thought he had been going there on a mission.
Now, they knew the truth behind that as well — The Yellow Warlock’s objective was Herpo the Foul’s Horcruxes!
So, pressed because of all this, Kai had no choice but to delay the collection of more Horcruxes.
He’d rather get a confirmation from either Death or the Tiline regarding the Cursed Vaults first than go for the Horcruxes blindly, putting more of his plans at risk.
Still, the Cursed Vaults were just one of the issues on the list of all that had gone wrong in the re 60 seconds.
The other was, of course, the Basilisk.
The serpent was gone!
Kai had been planning to devour the creature right after it had played its part at the end of the second year. Now that plan had gone down the hill as well.
He could go for other Basilisk in different tilines, of course, but it wouldn’t be the sa.
For one, Kai didn’t want to go to any other Harry Potter Random World’s tiline anymore, given Herpo the Foul’s ridiculous powers.
Second, the current tiline’s Overall Grade was already a touch above C .
If he wanted a Basilisk better than C or B- Grade, he would have to go to the Pillars...
Kai wasn’t sure about tackling a tiline with over B or B Grade yet. Unless he uprooted everything in that tiline, he wouldn’t get his hands on the Basilisk, anyway.
As if that wasn’t enough, then there was the matter of the storyline events.
...
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have triggered a Hidden Mission
...
Hidden Mission: The Serpent of Slytherin
Hidden Mission Grade: B-
Hidden Mission Summary: Because of the Contestant ddling with the storyline, the tiline stands to experience severe divergence.
If necessary steps are not taken, the Contestant may suffer the Tiline Backlash.
Hidden Mission Objective: Play the part of the Basilisk in the tiline, minimizing the inevitable divergence
Hidden Mission Ti Limit: 7 months
]
...
With these worries, Kai spent the last night of the Christmas holidays with Voldemort.
They kept pushing the soul attached to the back of Grindelwald’s head to see who held his Diary at Hogwarts.
However, the Dark Lord himself couldn’t find out anything.
At last, Kai decided to not activate the Echoes within the wizards and witches of Hogwarts.
If even a hint of their existence went out, then the Order of Immortal Lotus would do just about anything to extract all the Echoes.
Now, they already knew how the Yellow Warlock controlled his victims as Herpo the Foul must have already shared his findings from the destroyed Cunestune village.
The only thing that worked in Kai’s favor right now was that as long as the Echoes remained in hibernation mode, even a hundred Herpo the Fouls couldn’t find out their exact location in soone’s mind.
When he returned to Hogwarts the next morning, they had already put up the list of the selected students for each group.
...
In Gryffindor’s Common Room, students stared at the 1st Group’s list with wide eyes.
Not only wide, but the eyes had gone red and dry, and so students kept applying charms to wet them with a water spell.
Yes. It was a Rule.
In the House Common Room, you couldn’t blink today.
Regardless of the oddity, they all did their best to read the nas of the students in one go.
...
The following students of the 1st Group have been selected to represent Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Triwizard Tournant:
2nd Years
— Black Arlen
— Greengrass Daphne
— Granger Hermione
— Malfoy Draco
— Potter Harry
— Weasley Ronald
Fourth Years
— Diggory Cedric
— Johnson Angelina
— Malfoy Darcie
— Weasley George
...
The uproar was the loudest so far.
What to take note of in this list? What not to take note of in this list?!
No third-year students could make it into the 1st Group? Six 2nd years managed to blast their way in sohow? Two Weasleys?
An even bigger deal was how Harry Potter and Ron Weasley made it into the list, especially when the forr had no opponent and the latter’s opponent had been disqualified?
They all looked at the two second-years.
Harry and Ron looked back at them.
And all eyes were red and dry.
None knew who laughed first, but then they all began laughing at the strange, funny, horrifying atmosphere.
What did it matter?
Out of the ten students, six were from Gryffindor!!!
...
It was announced shortly after in the Great Hall by the Headmaster that the Tournant would be held in May.
The exact details and the nature of the Tournant were still being finalized, shrouding the event under a veil of mystery.
However, Dumbledore advised all the selected candidates to start their preparations as the tournant might turn out to be more than sothing they had hoped for.
Another thing the Headmaster cleared up was the selection of Harry and Ron as many students kept writing complaints, asking for the points system.
It turned out, during the Christmas holidays, the Professors had arranged a private duel between Harry and Ron under the presence of the Headmaster.
They were given points based on that duel and finally made it into the list.
No questions were entertained regarding this after that.
To Kai’s relief, Harry found Tom Riddle’s diary in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom in late January.
To Kai’s disbelief, Harry shoved the empty diary back into the toilet.
...
"You must be kidding !" Black gasped. "Why?!"
Harry looked at Black oddly. "It was in the toilet! There was nothing in it! It belonged to so Riddle... a boy! Need more reasons?"
Black opened his mouth to say sothing, paused, and shut it back.
...
Strangely, no attack happened after Christmas. Nor did Harry or Darcie hear any hisses.
It was like whoever had been attacking the students had gone into hibernation or sothing.
Umbridge’s behavior beca even worse, though. Perhaps it was because all four of the most unruly students at Hogwarts had made it into the 1st Group’s list. Perhaps it was because of so other reason. None knew.
She kept looking for just any reason to take points out of Gryffindor.
On the opposite spectrum was Gilderoy Lockhart, who kept telling everyone that it was he who had made the attacks stop.
"There will be no more attacks!" Lockhart declared in class to the students. He wasn’t smiling, but the air of handsoness and bravery was still around him. "I locked the Chamber for good this ti. I think... the best thing to do now is to wash away our mories of the unpleasant events. I know just the charm..."
The charm Lockhart had been talking about revealed itself on February 14th.
The walls of the Great Hall that morning were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers.
Heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Giggles danced in the air as starry-eyed girls kept looking left and right.
On Gryffindor’s table, Harry, Black, Ron, and Draco looked at all this, feeling nauseated.
Jokes were one thing.
Living the nightmare was another thing altogether.
In front of the teacher’s table, wearing pink robes, Lockhart was waving for silence.
Umbridge, also dressed in pink, of course, looked at the man with a fuming gaze, her eyes almost popping out. It was as if soone had cast the no-blinking rule just on her.
For once, as the boys noticed the look on Snape’s face, they found it normal.
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened and a dozen dwarfs marched in, wearing golden wings and carrying harps.
"Happy Valentine’s Day!" Lockhart shouted. "These are my friendly, card-carrying cupids to deliver your valentines today!
"I’m sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion?
"And while you’re at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantnts than any wizard I’ve ever t, the sly old dog!"
Snape looked at the crowd of students as if the first one to ask him for Love Potion would find his na included in the list of the petrified students.
However, for better or for worse, Gilderoy Lockhart had underestimated the popularity of the Celebrity of the Wizarding World.
The dwarfs had their ti cut short as, sweating, they kept running from one School corridor to the next, searching for Darcie.
By afternoon, Darcie had to carry a separate bag to hold all the letters.
The four boys looked at the sight and shook their heads.
Black suddenly took out a pink piece of parchnt.
Harry and Ron’s eyes widened. Draco frowned.
"What are you doing?" Harry whispered.
"Writing a love letter, duh!"
Draco shoved Ron away and almost caught Black by the collars. "To whom?"
Black tsked. "Not to your sister!" he hissed. "Like she needs more... I am writing to Hermione."
Harry and Ron’s mouths twitched as Draco shifted away.
"What are you writing?" Harry asked, already finding it funny.
Black paused, tapped the feather on his head, and said, "Let’s start with... Woof-Woof, I am your moon..."
Holding their stomachs, laughing the breath out of them, the boys lted into the crowd, thinking of what to write next.
Ti slipped away in Quidditch practices and Tournant preparations.
And then, during the Easter holidays, it was ti for the arrival of the champions of the other two Schools.
*****************
AN: Original images of various scenes and characters (Darcie, Draco, Black) are available
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