Harry Potter and the Silver Serpent

Chapter 19 - Ripples

A thought struck Harry, when he and Bill were passing the library. How did Draco plan to sail a boat underwater without drowning himself and his followers? It wasn't something they learned at school so Harry doubted Draco knew the right spell. Could he be using the silver serpent to power the boat too? He had to know exactly how it was done. There could be a way to stop them before they'd even arrived.

"Harry, where are you going?" asked Bill when Harry turned back around.

"I need to find something in the library. Go on without me, I'll be fine." Harry assured his brother-in-law. "I've done plenty of night time sneaking about in this castle before now."

"What should I tell the others?"

"Don't wake them. Let them sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Bill was curious about what he was up to but didn't follow Harry when the younger man began tearing about the library looking for books on magical boats or Durmstrang. By the time he'd made himself comfortable at a table, he'd found that his pile of books were almost as tall as he was. Harry sighed and settled down for a long night reading by candle light.

The next time he looked at the candle it was almost completely melted and dawn was beginning to break. At the sound of footsteps, Harry rubbed his eyes to see Ginny, Ron and Hermione approaching him with some clean clothes, food and a flask of pumpkin juice.

"Did you really pull an all-nighter in the library?" asked Ron, incredulously.

"What's wrong with that?" Harry yawned.

"Nothing, it just seems more like something Hermione would do."

"Here." Ginny said, handing him the clothes. "Go freshen up, we'll have to leave soon."

"I will but there's something I need to do before I go out to the lake."

"Which is?" Hermione asked curiously, looking at Harry with concern.

"Last night, it hit me. How is Draco getting the boat to sail under water?"

"Magic obviously." Ron stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes but how? It's not exactly something we learned in our time here. Do you know Hermione?"

"Well... no." she said, looking disappointed in herself.

"Then I wager if you don't know the answer, Draco definitely doesn't."

"So how is he doing it?"

"It took me all night but I finally found something useful. Read that paragraph."

Harry handed Hermione the book whilst he dashed behind a set of shelves to change discreetly. Hermione looked his way in slight confusion but turned her eyes to the page Harry pointed at and began to read aloud for the others.

"The Durmstrang Boat has only been sailed upon on a few occasions, mostly for travelling to magical school in other lands when the Triwizard Tournament was still going strong. It has only been used twice in the last century and so has been left unattended in the DurmstrangPort ever since."

"Go on." Harry said, still dressing. "Get to the interesting part."

"Only the current Headmaster or Headmistress of Durmstrang has the power to sail this boat. The boat recognises it's captain when it steps on board and is sailed by the captain's force of will." Hermione paused and read ahead before continuing to read aloud. "The boat was enchanted millennia ago to ensure no students or vandals attempted to sail the boat so it was spelled to ensure no one but the Headmaster or Headmistress could sail this boat."