Chapter 7

When the post owls arrived during breakfast, Harry saw Hedwig gliding down to him.

"Hello girl, good morning. Got something for me?" Harry said, relieving the owl from her burden. "It's from Snuffles," he said to Hermione.

"Well, read it."

Dear Harry,

Be in the common room at midnight on the twentieth. We'll talk then. Send an owl if you can't make it. Don't use Hedwig, as she stands out a bit.

Snuffles

"Well, that was short," Harry said disappointedly.

"Wonder what he's up to," Hermione said.

"We'll see tomorrow," Harry said. "Let's go to class."

As is normal with time, it went by excruciatingly slow when you're excited for something to happen. The two days it took for Harry's appointment with Sirius were no exception. Harry kept staring at various clocks, swearing they all stood still. But in the end, midnight finally came.

Harry and Hermione hoped that the common room would be empty at the time, but had procured a number of Dungbombs to facilitate that. The two friends were sitting in their favourite chairs by the fire, watching the common room empty slowly. At a quarter to, all the students had finally gone off to their dormitories.

"Took them long enough," Harry said. "Now all we have to do is wait."

They didn't have to wait too long. At the stroke of midnight, Harry saw something move in the corner of his eye.

"Sirius!" he exclaimed, seeing his godfather's face in the glowing embers.

"Hi, pup. What's up?" Sirius said.

"Nothing much, the usual, you know?" Harry said, grinning.

"So, this Tournament. Tell me about it."

Harry started to explain everything. How he got chosen by the Goblet. His oath. How he still had to compete, according to the rules.

"No idea who put your name in then?" Sirius asked when he had finished.

"Yeah, I do," said Harry. "But I can't tell you over the Floo. We need to meet Sirius."

"I'm travelling north Harry. I'll be there as soon as I can. Know the date of your next Hogsmeade weekend?"

Hermione gave the date, which was after the First Task.

"Now, about the First Task. Got any ideas?" Sirius asked.

Harry started explaining what the Task entailed and what he had planned. Hearing the plan, Sirius burst out laughing.

"Now that's a prank worthy of the Marauders, pup. Well done. Is it possible though?"

"Yes, we checked the rules multiple times," Hermione said. "There's nothing in there that can stop this."

"Excellent," Sirius said. "Now, I've got to go. I've broken into this home and don't want to risk getting caught. Like I said, I'll be there as soon as possible. Keep your nose clean in the meantime and have fun with the Task. See you soon, Harry."

Both teens said their farewells to Sirius and the connection ended. As it was one in the morning, both decided that sleep was exactly what they needed.

-o0o0o—

The days leading up to the First Task were rather quiet, relatively. Harry and Hermione attended class, did their homework, spent time going over the rulebook and Harry's plan. The fake Moody did stop Harry in the halls the day before the Task, but Harry assured him he 'had it all figured out'.

Meanwhile, Harry's popularity within the castle itself wasn't getting any worse, much to his surprise. Apparently his oath had actually penetrated the brains of the populace, or so he hoped anyway.

This, of course, didn't mean the Malfoy didn't try to rile Harry up at every opportunity he saw. Harry tried his best to ignore the blond haired waste of oxygen, but he found it harder to do with each passing day. He and Hermione were sitting in the common room the night before the Task, when he was pondering this.

"Wonder why that is," he said to Hermione.

"What's that?"

"Well, I didn't have as much trouble keeping my temper in check a couple of weeks ago. Now… It's getting harder."

"Any other mood swings?" Hermione asked.

"Sort of," Harry said, blushing.

"Do tell."

"Well… I… Uhm… You know…" he felt his face redden up. Harry figured he must be approaching a nice Weasley-red by now.

"Harry, if you don't tell me, I can't try and explain it," Hermione said.

"ImgettingmoreerectionsthanIdidbeforeIgotback," Harry said very quickly.

"Could you repeat that?"

Harry shook his head violently, keeping his eyes fixed at the ground. A ground he suddenly thought was very interesting. Hermione, in the meantime, was deciphering what Harry had said.

"Oh…" she exclaimed, turning a deep red. "Uhm… Well… Anything else?"

"That not enough? It's embarrassing," Harry said, feeling frustrated and getting angry.

"Relax Harry, I think I know what's going on."

"Do tell," Harry snapped.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him. "You know, you have done this before. You should know," she said.

Harry didn't feel this was an adequate answer. He stood up and turned to leave. "If you're not gonna tell," he started.

Hermione, realising her mistake, quickly seized his arm.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake Harry. It's called puberty. You are fourteen. Hormones, remember?" she said. "Mood swings, tempers, e… ah well, you know. All part of the deal."

"Ah shit, all that crap again?" Harry exclaimed.

The locked eyes and both started laughing loudly, all embarrassment forgotten.

"That would explain it," Harry said. "Wish I didn't have to go through it again. I feel like I'm getting dumber by the minute."

"That would be par for the course, for boys in any event," Hermione said.

"On behalf of my gender, EY!" Harry said, smiling.

"Yeah, well… Whatever Harry," Hermione said, sticking out her tongue like the mature woman she was. "Got everything set for tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's gonna be fun," Harry said, grinning widely.

A sly smile graced Hermione's face. A smile Harry had the sudden need to kiss.

"Gotta go, early night," he said, sounding slightly panicked, and raced up to the dormitory.

-o0o0o—

The morning of the First Task, Harry awoke feeling slightly nervous, but confident in his plan. He went about his business. History of Magic was as boring as ever and lunch was a rather subdued affair. The atmosphere in the Great Hall was one of quiet excitement and trepidation. Finally, professor McGonagall came to fetch Harry.

"It's time for the First Task, Potter," she said.

Harry stood up and turned to follow the professor to the tent, where he knew the Champions would gather. Before he got more than two steps away, Hermione stood up and flung her arms around his neck.

"Good luck Harry," she said. She looked him in the eyes for a moment and suddenly kissed him.

Harry froze for a second, then put his arms around her and kissed her back. The kiss seemed to last for several hours, until they heard a subtle cough.

"Yes, quite. I'm afraid Potter really needs to get going miss Granger," McGonagall said, a smile threatening to grace her features.

"We'll talk after," Harry whispered to Hermione.

He let her go and followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall to many cat calls.

"Damn hormones," he muttered to himself, cursing the fact his face must be resembling a tomato by now.

"What was that Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Nothing, professor," Harry said, and they walked on in silence.

When they arrived at the tent, the professor stopped Harry by putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Look Potter, you don't have to worry… We've got wizards on stand-by, for… Well… To prevent things… Getting out of hand. Just try your best, we won't think any less of you."

"Thanks professor," Harry said, and turned to enter the tent.

As Harry wasn't the least bit nervous this time around, he was able to take in and appreciate the décor. It was nice and, or so he thought, aimed to put the Champions at ease. Harry also noticed the same signs as before. Everybody seemed to know what was coming.

Bagman gave his shtick about the dragons, offered the bag to each Champion and Harry ended up with the Horntail once again.

"Harry, got a moment?" Bagman said, steering Harry away from the others.

"Not really, sir."

"Oh… Uhm… I was just wondering if you needed any pointers."

"No sir, I don't. Got an idea what to do. Why don't you ask Cedric?" Harry said.

Bagman gave Harry an appraising look, but didn't respond. He turned and left the tent to announce the task and commentate.

Harry's turn came about an hour later, after first hearing the three Champion preform more or less as they had done previously. Steeling his resolve, Harry got up and walked to the enclosure.

He entered through a gap in the fence and saw the Hungarian Horntail waiting for him. The beast looked every bit as intimidating as it did last time. Gulping and saying a quick prayer, Harry decided it was now or never. He could only pull this trick once, so it might as well be now. He knew for certain that he wouldn't get a bigger audience than this. He squared his shoulders and cast the Sonorus charm on himself…

"Uhm, can I have my egg please?" he asked and waited.

Silence.

"No?" Harry asked again.

The audience started muttering, Harry could hear some starting to laugh.

"In that case, I give up," he said, and sat down on the ground.

Pandemonium ensued.

"MISTER POTTER, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO GIVE UP?" Bagman shouted.

"Yes, I do," Harry said calmly. He then pointed his wand at his throat and muttered "Quietus."

Harry watched as seven wizards entered the enclosure to subdue the dragon. He looked at the judges and saw they were huddled together. It looked like they were arguing furiously.

When the dragon was taken back to wherever it was staying, Harry quietly walked to the tent where the other Champions were being treated for several wounds. When he reached the tent, he was immediately accosted by madam Pomfrey.

"I need to check you over, Potter."

"I'm fine madam Pomfrey," Harry said. "The dragon didn't even do anything."

"Never mind that," the nurse said, whilst preforming various diagnostic spells on him.

The process didn't take long. When she was finally satisfied with the results, she returned to the Champions who actually needed medical attention.

Harry turned to the entrance of the tent, but didn't get a chance to do anything. His vision was suddenly obscured by a lot of brown, very bushy, hair.

"YOU DID IT!" Hermione squealed.

"Yeah, but I think I need my hearing," Harry laughed.

"Oh, shush you," she said, kissing him.

"Think you're clever?" someone growled.

Harry broke the kiss to see who it was. Ron was standing in the entrance, looking furious.

"I thought I was pretty clear I didn't want to enter," he said. "Obviously you're still labouring under the delusion that I did. Not my problem, so beat it."

"You just did that to get more attention, you arrogant fuck!"

Although Harry knew the Ron wasn't a true friend, his words still stung. "Just bugger of, Weasley," he said.

"Ron," Hermione began, but she was cut off.

"Shut up, Granger. You're just a slut, who's after his money."

With that, Ron turned and disappeared.

"Oh Harry, you know I don't…" Hermione said, tears in her eyes.

"I know, 'Mione," Harry said, kissing her forehead. "He's just a jealous asshole."

"Language," Hermione sniffed between quiet sobs. "We need to find out your scores."

"Yeah, that should be funny," Harry said, hoping that the scores would help to forget about Ron's harsh words.

When they exited the tent, Harry could hear the audience still muttering. He grinned widely at the reaction his prank had caused.

"I really need to send this memory to Sirius, and a Pensieve too," he said to Hermione.

"A what?"

"I'll explain later, points first."

Seeing Harry, Bagman rose to speak. "After that... Uhm… Unique performance, the judges conferred. We have decided that, although Potter did try and obtain the egg through negotiation, his action do not merit any points."

Bagman glared at Harry when he said this. Harry, however, just burst out laughing and left the area, with Hermione in his arms.

-o0o0o—

To avoid the rest of the school, Harry decided to take Hermione to the Room of Requirement.

"We need to plan our next move," he said while they were climbing the stairs.

"Where are we going, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"You'll see, somewhere pretty special."

"You're just full of surprises today, aren't you mister Potter?" she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well… Think you're gonna like this one though," he responded, grinning broadly.

They arrived at the seventh floor, Harry walked to and fro thrice and Hermione nearly had a heart attack when the door to the Room appeared.

"I never knew about this!" she said.

"True, even the Marauders never found this room. We used it for the DA in our fifth year."

Seeing the questions in her eyes, Harry promised to fill her in later on.

"First we need to form some sort of plan," he said. "Would you do the honours?" he asked, pointing at the door.

He laughed out loud when he heard Hermione's gasp of surprise when she opened the door.

"Oh Harry, it's beautiful."

He entered the room and saw it was exactly what he had asked for. As he expected. He had asked for a table for two by the Seine in Paris, at dusk.

"Glad you like it," he said. "So what do you want to do first? Date, or planning?"

Blushing furiously, Hermione kissed him and whispered "Date please."

-o0o0o—

A/N: Hope you liked Harry's plan for the task. As usual, all reviews and thoughts are welcome. The next chapter will come, when it arrives.