AN:

I have bumped the rating up to M as I have found that my writing style and story line tend to lean more towards the adult side of the spectrum at times.

I am not, have not, and never will be the author or owner of anything Harry Potter, except of course, my own set of the books.

Chapter 2

Of Dragons and Serpents

One. Week.
It took one week for Harry to be vilified by Gryffindor House. It started with mild indifference from his friends, except for Ron of course, but with the way Gryffindor house worked that changed quickly. The older students who had entered the tournament saw Harry as a cheat who didn't deserve to be in the house of the brave, and this quickly bled down to the lower years, and with Ron continuing to spout his nonsense, Harry quickly found himself with very few friends. Fred and George said they would try and convince some of the others, but couldn't be too open about it, seeing as they had girls they liked and couldn't be seen acting against what they said.
Harry was fine with this, he knew he had supporters in them and Neville, and after spending the summer with Sirius, Harry was beginning to see girls in a different way too. Of course, whether he had wanted it or not, his lovely dogfather had coached him on how to... interact... with the fairer sex. Apparently the key was seeing them as people, and not as some far off, unobtainable, creature. Also a certain amount of confidence cam in handy.
He had also told Neville that if the House started to treat him badly, that he too should support Harry in the same way the twins did.
Hermione seemed uncertain, like she didn't know whether to go with the rest of the house, or to stay by Harry. So much for best friends.
So, since Harry didn't really have anything to do with anyone at the moment, he did one of the things he loved most. He flew.
He took his broom out and flew over the grounds, the chilly late fall air stinging against his skin quickly faded away as he lost himself in the feeling of flying. Rising higher and flying further out from the castle, he made his way over the Black Lake, and the Forbidden Forest. As he flew, he heard a loud roar from slightly deeper in the forest than people would be comfortable going on foot. Thinking it wasn't anything to worry about, he continued flying, but then there was a quick burst of flame that barely made it past the trees. Hearing shouting as he got closer, Harry quickened his pace. As he arrived above the spot where the flames were, he looked down and saw four caged dragons surrounded by dragon handlers. He saw Hagrid helping up a redhead that could only come from one family.
Curious, Harry slowly lowered himself so that he could find out what was going on. He now knew that the dragons would be used in the task, but not how.
As he got closer he heard Charlie talking to Hagrid. "-don't understand why they thought this was a good idea. I mean really! Who in their right mind would thing that it's a good idea to have kids try and steal and egg from a nesting mother!? It's ridiculous!"
Hagrid nodded, "I know, 'specially Harry."
Charlie sighed. "I hope Ron has told him about them, I mean I asked him to in my letter when I heard about Harry being forced into the tournament. Maybe you should bring him out here, just to make sure."
At this point Harry's eyes were on fire, and he left to make sure that the glow didn't attract anyone's attention. He was furious, knowing that he needed to prepare and take his mind off of Ron, Harry flew back to the castle, using the flight back to calm down.

LINEBREAK

Shrinking down his broom, he headed for the library, he didn't want anyone to find the room, and didn't have his cloak with him. As he walked, eyes and veins having returned to normal, but anger still close to showing himself, his eyes landed on Malfoy and his two trained gorillas.
"Hey Potty!" the blond ponce shouted, bringing the attention of everyone near to them.
Harry sighed, he didn't want to deal with this right now. "Yes, you bleached waste of space?" He asked, far too sweetly, and discreetly palmed his wand.
Ickle Draco immediately reddened as a slight chuckle passed through the air. The least cunning of all snakes decided to continue with his direct and obvious attempt to get a rise out of Harry. "Like the badges Scarface? I enchanted them myself!" He pointed to the yellow badge on his chest as it changed from "SUPPORT THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION, CEDRIC DIGGORY" to "POTTER STINKS". The poor Snape-Malfoy love child seemed far to proud of his second year charm work. Harry discreetly cast three spells silently.
"Aw, that's wonderful Malfoy" Harry started kindly, "I'm glad you and your father can be honest about your love." and walked on.
The idiotic monkey looked down at the badge. "WHAT?" he screeched. The badge was now pink, heart shaped and read: "I BED MY FATHER AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE" in dark red. Malfoy yanked at it, but it stayed in stuck to his robe. After a few moments, realizing that he couldn't get it off, he turned around giving everyone a good view of his newly altered accessory. "POTTER!" he yelled, shooting off a spell. Harry sidestepped, knowing he would do something like that, then turned around just in time to see Malfoy turn into a bleached blond ferret.
Professor Moody stepped forward wand out and began shaking him around.
"Don't be casting spells around like that you little mongrel. And Potter! Ten points for that dodge." Harry nodded and at that moment, Professor McGonagall rounded the corner. "Professor Moody! Is that a student?" was the last thing Harry heard as he left for the library.
As Harry walked through the library, he gathered everything he could find on dragons, found a secluded spot, and got to work

LINEBREAK

Harry wasn't in a good mood, having wasted the past few hours. His research was largely unsuccessful, and all the books had said was that dragons are dangerous, dragons are strong, dragons breathe fire, dragons can fly, dragons are scary. The only thing that was helpful was that nesting mothers were extremely protective of their clutch of eggs.
As Harry was finishing up with the few books he had found, someone spoke up at the side of the table. "Potter, I need to speak with you."
His eyes burst into flame. "What!" he snapped as he turned to see who wanted his attention.
It was Daphne Greengrass, The Ice Queen, a Slytherin in his year. He sighed, closed his eyes, rubbed his face, and tried to calm down.
"Sorry," he said "I'm not having the best day. What can I do for you Miss Greengrass?" Looking over her, he could tell that his little display had spooked her, but he saw something else in her eyes as she held an impassive face. A need or want for something maybe?
"I came to offer assistance for the first task, but it seems that you already know what you are up against." She gestured to the books.
"Why? What's in it for you?" Harry asked, more curious than hostile. "Why would someone from the house with the most people against me willingly help me out?"
"Not all of our families supported the the most recent Dark Lord, Potter." She answered, seeming to answer the question.
"That's not what I asked." Harry paused. "Maybe it's better to say it this way. What do you, as someone from the house of cunning and ambition, stand to gain from helping me?"
The want leaked back into eyes as she answered "A good question, makes one wonder why you aren't down in the snake pit? As to what I gain, I gain good standing with you, and as I continue to help you, that standing continues to go up."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And just why would the Slytherin Ice Queen want to be in good standing with the Gryffindor Golden Boy?" He asked while collecting the books he had pulled out together.
Daphne squirmed slightly, not prepared to be put on the spot like that, and her eyes flitted away for a moment and then back to his. She decided she needed to be direct. "I…um" she started "I am... attracted... to power, and you have power, but you are also a good person, unlike some others I've had to deal with." Harry was surprised, he hadn't expected this. At all. Daphne wasn't finished. "It started towards the end of last year, your attitude shifted and you became more confident and sure of yourself unlike the beginning of the year. You were even more confident this year, you still are now, and that's what drew my attention to you, but you also have a reputation of being a good person, and despite having only slightly above average grades you make up for most of it in power, and have been improving. You also have political sway with your title as The-Boy-Who-Lived, I know you hate it but it's true, and as heir to House Potter. You could protect me from a marriage contract, even if you don't go into politics. You don't seem the type too. While my father would never do that to me willingly, who is to say he won't be forced? The Greengrass fortune is highly sought after."
Harry was stunned. Here was one of the prettiest and smartest girls in the school, basically saying that she liked him! He silently thanked Sirius on those lessons on how to find out what a girl wants from a guy.
"Alright, I can understand that." Harry started slowly. "How did you know about the dragons for the first task?"
"I didn't know they were for the first task. My father is on the wizengamot and was complaining to my mother about the set up for the tournament over dinner. He complained about the costs and dangers of the dragons, how slow the negotiations with the merpeople were, and the costs of importing a large amount of different live magical creatures. He also told me about the Yule Ball, and had me refresh on my dancing."
Harry was quiet as he processed this information. He now had an edge over all the other competitors, and he had Daphne to thank, and, if he was honest, he wouldn't mind being with Daphne, which seemed to be her goal in all of this. As he thought over her words and thought about what do do next. At the moment, he needed dance lessons.
He stood up with his things, stepped close to Daphne and smothered her with his magical aura. "I would never object to company such as yours, my dear Daphne. Despite your help, I find myself at a loss, and require a few more favors from you. Would you be at all inclined to go with me on the next Hogsmeade weekend? If you're worried about your housemate's reactions, I have an invisibility cloak we can use."
Harry had completely melted the Ice Queen at this point and all she could do was nod.
"Wonderful my dear! I also find myself without the ability to dance. Would you be inclined to teach me? I wouldn't want you to have a bad time as my date."
She shuddered at that. The thought of being his. She nodded again "Y-Yes, of course not."
"Wonderful." He kissed her cheek. "And please, call me Harry." He then walked to put his books away, leaving a blushing freshly melted Slytherin Queen behind. "Oh, and Daphne?" He called back.
She turned to face him, her blush just starting to fade. "The only reason I'm not in the snake pit with you is because I met Ickle Draco before the sorting." Then he was gone, leaving Daphne furious at her recently ferret housemate, and in need of a cold shower.