Narcissa Malfoy: Well, I see this chapter has taken you quite some time despite the use of muggle contraptions.
Scott the Wanderer: Well, at least it's the most attractive Malfoy. And yes it has taken me a while.
Narcissa: It is always nice to hear a compliment, but that is not why I am here today.
Scott: Alright, I will bite why are you here?
Narcissa: Merely to remind you that you need to work on all your stories. including the new ones that your muse has graced you with.
Scott: This wouldn't have to do with a story idea that had you as one of the leads, would it?
Narcissa: Perhaps. Scott the Wanderer does not own Harry Potter, Palladium Books, or anything related. There now you are protected from the masses that might attempt to sue you
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. As usual leave a review, but if you do try to be specific about your criticisms but also be polite.
"And now our Wild Card Fourth Champion: Harrison James Perseus Potter-Andrus representing the Alexandria Alchemical Academy." Ludo Bagman's sonorous enhanced voice carried over the cheering of the crowd. Apparently the Harry Potter cheering section had drawn in quite a few people from each school. "Mr. Potter will be facing the Hungarian Horntail Molly. Don't let the unassuming name fool you. Hungarian Horntails are the largest and most powerful breed of Dragon alive today. One of these fearsome predators was the inspiration for Smaug in J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit. Hungarian Horntails are the single most dangerous Dragon breed alive today, eclipsed only by the now extinct Tarrasque."
Harry stepped into the Arena wearing just his Dragon hide pants and combat boots. It was quite unconventional for a competition uniform, but Harry was long used to fighting in clothing like this. Unfortunately, he did feel more than a bit naked without any of his weapons. Of course thanks to Sirius and Remus, he knew how to summon the fully loaded harness from where the two Marauders were sitting in the stands.
Molly, as she had been named just a few years ago by Charlie Weasley, raised her head from her nest in response to the noise. Three times the Stick-wavers had forced one of her friends in the Arena. Three times one of the other Stick-wavers had stolen from their nest. Rarely were Dragons allowed any treasures anymore. The Stick-Wavers stole them all and confined them in the Preserves. Now they were being used for amusement, given Treasure to guard only to have it stolen. It was cruel and it angered Molly greatly.
As if that was not enough, the Stick Wavers had moved their nests. Molly had been lucky the Red-Furred Servant had been in charge of her nest. All five of her eggs had survived the trip. Jin had not been as lucky, her clutch had been dead these last two weeks. Selene's eggs were still alive, but if Molly was right their development would be slowed due to the 'accidental' spilling of firewhiskey in the nest. Mathilda had been sleepless since the move, mostly because the Stick-Wavers had taken her in the middle of her nap.
The stay in the forest had been tolerable, but barely. They had been fed live cattle and sheep along with great mounds of mashed potatoes. It was the last that saved any of the Stick-Wavers from being killed. Molly loved mashed potatoes, especially when drizzled with blood. However they had not been allowed to fly and their enclosures were tiny, barely enough room to stretch fully. At least Norberta's Uncle Hagrid had brought them some Rock Cakes. They were excellent for sharpening teeth.
"{STOP! COME CLOSER AND I WILL ROAST YOU ALIVE, STICK-WAVER!}" Molly roared just after the cannon blast that signaled the beginning of the match.
Harry shook his head as he perfectly understood the Dragon. Well, the roar had also been nearly deafening. It was archaic but it sounded like someone combined Trade Five and Elven then hit Frappe in the blender. "{I just want the Golden Egg in your nest. This doesn't have to be a fight.}"
"{YES IT DOES!}" Molly roared back. Heaving herself to her feet she began charging forward, the chain attached to her ankle rattling at it was drug along. "{I WILL NOT HAVE YOU ABUSE ME ANYMORE, STICK-WAVER! IF YOU WANT THE TREASURE YOU WILL HAVE TO KILL ME, FOR I WILL KILL YOU AND ALL THE STICK-WAVERS HERE! SO MOTE IT BE!}"
Harry had groaned in frustration as he saw the flash of light denoting a vow. Without delay he touched the Heart in Chains and Heart with Small Wings to give himself a modicum of a chance against the enraged Dragon. His first indication that was a good call was when the chain holding Molly in place snapped. He didn't have the time to marvel at the strength needed to snap five inches of steel like that. Instead, Harry was instantly on the defensive as he dodged a gout of flames.
"{I don't want to have to kill you, Molly.}" Harry responded in the same mangled dialect even as he touched the Flaming Skull to manifest the powers over fire. His efforts at stopping the aggression were for naught as he barely avoided the wicked swinging tail of the beast. Drawing his wand he quickly made the proper motion. "Accio Weapon Harness."
In the stands Sirius Back smiled as his godson performed a textbook summoning charm. He had helped Harry devise this part of the plan and was ready to release the weapons harness. He watched as it sped off in Harry direction, only to bounce off some invisible barrier. That is when the smile on his face vanished.
Draco Malfoy smirked as his distant cousin found himself trapped in the Arena with an enraged Hungarian Horntail. It had taken a fair bit of money to have the Dragon charmed and potioned to the gills. It had taken just a little bit more to have the defensive ward scheme altered to let nothing but air in or out of the Arena when activated. Sure, the magic would last only a short while against the combined might of some of the Wizards present, but by then there would be no competing heir for the Black name.
"Ares riding Aphrodite's spiked strap on!" Harry saw what happened with the weapons harness and started cursing verbally. He would have loved to curse magically but his magic just did not allow it. His favorite victim of these rants was Ares, but mostly because he believed that deity to be a cowardly ass. Also he wouldn't have put it past Ares to make him kill the Dragon. The Weapon's Harness held a number of methods of knocking even an enraged beast like this one unconscious.
Touching the Chain with Broken link, Harry activated the superhuman strength he would need soon. It came just in time as Molly had caught him with a sudden lunge. Her fearsome jaws snapped closed on Harry's leg. Despite the power behind a Dragon's bite, Molly was not able to tear into Harry's flesh. Instead her diamond hard teeth were stopped short by the nearly imperceptible aura granted by the Heart in Chains.
There were screams in the audience as Molly began shaking Harry back and forth in an attempt to tear his leg off. They couldn't see that despite being flung around almost like a ragdoll, Harry was far from being as dead as they thought. Reaching into Molly's mouth, Harry put every ounce of his formidable strength into prying open her jaws to no avail. What he got for his effort was bashed against one of the many boulders of the Arena, the stone pulverizing from the force.
"I really didn't want to have to do this." Harry groaned as he felt the protective aura of his tattoo beginning to erode. Releasing his hold on Molly's jaws he touched the image of the Maul with Serpents entwined around the shaft. A moment later a short hafted Maul was in his hand. "Athena, if I survive I'll name a daughter after you."
With more than a twinge of regret Harry used every bit of strength he had to bring his hammer down on Molly's left eye. If this had been his Xiphos, Harry would have been lucky to cause a scar. This particular tattoo weapon, however, was designed for use against Dragons. The Hammer crushed Molly's eye like a grape spraying ocular jelly all over her face and Harry. With a cry of pain and rage she released her hold on the man resulting in him flying the length of the arena and slamming against the far wall.
Apolline Delacour had made an appearance at the First Task for two purposes: she wished to be seen supporting her daughter and she wanted to evaluate Harry Potter. She had hoped perhaps that Armand had merely been stupid and Harry had been lucky to take out his team. What she saw before her put that hope to lie. Unlike the others she saw that Harry wasn't even wounded by dragon's teeth. More so he had destroyed a Dragon's eye with a simple hammer blow. A full grown giant might have been able to pull that off, but certainly no human. At this moment Appoline was absolutely terrified, something she had not felt since that night so many years ago.
Harry rolled to his feet despite the protest that his body was sore. The protections of his Tattoo were completely exhausted and the impact with the barrier had been enough to bruise his entire back. He would have loved to lay down and just recover, but Molly was already on the move, taking to the air just enough to slam her spiked tail into Harry's left arm. As luck would have it the spike pierced his bicep even as the bone shattered under the impact. Of course Harry was sent tumbling again.
"ARTEMIS' GAPING ARSE!" Harry cursed again revealing just how the Goddess of the Hunt could still be a virgin despite having a list of lovers of both genders rivaling Aphrodite's. Useless arm hanging at his side, Harry had relatively few choices. Touching the image of the Pegasus, Harry channeled a fair bit of power into summoning the magnificent animal.
The audience who had been screaming out of fear they would see a Dragon kill Harry Potter, were awed into silence by the appearance of the pure white Pegasus. Unlike the Abraxans from Beauxbatons who were spirited but nonviolent, the Pegasus immediately leapt to the attack, rearing up to strike Molly with diamond hard hooves driven by supernaturally powerful muscles. The Dragon, unused to a horse even attempting to defend itself was knocked away from Harry allowing him a bit of a breather.
Harry grimaced as he got himself to his feet. The left side of his body covered in blood. If it weren't for adrenalin he would be unconscious just from blood loss. Weighing his options he touched the Phoenix in Flames that covered his upper chest and channeled most of his remaining energy to activating the Healing powers he would need. He almost screamed in pain as the shards of bones in his arm realigned and fused back together. Healing of this type never comes pain free after all.
Molly was enraged. How dare the Stick-Waver sic a winged horse on her! What was more insulting was how it had knocked her on her ass. With a roar of rage she released gouts of flame at the Pegasus. She let a small chuckle of glee escape her lips as the winged horse didn't even attempt to evade the flames. That turned into a shocked gasp as the Pegasus continued it's relentless assault even while it's flesh and feathered wings were flaming. A few of Moly's scales were actually broken by the blows from the hoof strikes.
Harry sighed as he saw what was happening to the conjured Pegasus. Like all constructs created by the tattoos it had no fear and no sense of self preservation unless Harry told it to. He would have dismissed the construct, but did not have the energy to call it again. Instead he decided to press the attack. As the Pegasus distracted Molly with a frontal assault he came in to flank her from behind.
The TriWizard audience would remember this day for a long, long time. A blood covered Harry Potter charged an enraged dragon with nothing more than a hammer. At the same time a Pegasus that was being burned alive was doing it's level best to literally kick the aforementioned dragon to death. Despite what promised to be a bloody end for both human as well as the Pegasus, it was the Dragon that died. Even as it bit the head off the Pegasus, Harry Potter brought down his Hammer on the beast's neck. The resulting blow crushed one of it's vertebrae and completely severed the spinal cord.
Molly had just taken the head of the foolish Pegasus and torn it from the body, when she felt a pain in her neck. A moment later she could not feel her body and the pain in her neck intensified for a brief moment. Then it felt as if her brain had caught fire. There was nothing but pain and blinding white light that seemed to just obliterate everything. Just when she thought she could take no more, it all ended: Molly the Hungarian Horntail was no more.
Harry dropped the hammer from his numb hand, not even caring that it dissipated. His entire body was not much more than pain. He had stupidly tried to pry open Molly's jaw for more than five minutes as he was being thrashed around. He chastised himself for not using the hammer sooner. With the Dragon dead his adrenaline level was starting to dip and he just wanted to lie down and sleep. Still there was a task to complete. Stumbling toward the nest even as the protection wards around the Arena collapsed, Harry scooped up the Golden Egg and held it high. A moment later he collapsed amongst Molly's hatching eggs.
"I thought this bloody tournament was supposed to be safe!" Sirius Black was well beyond furious as he screamed at Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr. It had been pointed out the duo were responsible for increasing the difficulty of the Task at the request of the sponsors. "Juvenile Male dragons were what was agreed upon, wasn't it? I remember Andromeda telling me that. She hadn't been consulted, but had been given the meeting minutes. Those were Ancient Nesting Mothers, the single most dangerous classification that exists outside of Great Wyrm. Worse, you included a Hungarian Horntail noted for her ferocity and willingness to attack any human other than her favorite Handlers. It's as if you wanted the Champion who faced her to die."
"I am in the untenable position of agreeing with Lord Black." Severus Snape drawled out. His tone spoke of how he would rather not support the man who had tormented him all through Hogwarts. However his professionalism demanded it. "I have finished my analysis of the blood from the deceased Dragon. I have discovered nearly lethal levels of a number of potions that would have driven a Dragon into a violent frenzy. The Horntail had been on this cocktail for over a week. One must wonder if it was only sheer luck that the younger Champions did not face the beast. I doubt the others would have fared as well."
"Is that a veiled compliment of a Potter I hear in there somewhere?" Tonks looked askance at the man who hated anything Potter and a good deal of Black.
"Hardly." Severus shot Tonks a look of disdain. "I am merely complimenting the training he received from his adoptive family and the mind that obviously Lily gave him. Not to mention the rather strange and powerful magic of his Tattoos."
"Well, I don't know about the potions I was just told to procure Nesting Mothers." Ludo was actually cowering away from Sirius. "The memo told me that the Schools had agreed to a more dangerous task."
"I was a little surprised at the inclusion of Nesting Mothers, but did not question the change." Crouch stroked his chin in thought. "With Krum, Diggory and Delacour as Champions a Juvenile Male would not have been much of a Challenge. Given Mr. Potter-Andrus' performance I daresay the same of him."
"Fool of a man. We did not agree to this tournament to kill our finest students." Madam Maxime clenched her fist around her wand, suppressing the urge to hex both Bagman and Crouch for their folly. "If Miss Delacour 'ad died against the 'Orntail I would 'ave killed you both. As it stands you should pray that 'Arry recovers quickly for I fear Fleur might still just do that."
"But…but…I didn't potion the Horntail." Ludo was paling. He had once witnessed a Veela in Full Rage. He had no desire to be the target of that particular terror. "It wouldn't be Quidditch."
"Well somebody certainly had, Bagman." Sirius growled dangerously. "Find out who and do it before my patience wears out."
"He seems to have responded to the Skelegrow and Blood replenisher potions." Madam Pomfrey nodded as she returned to her office after she had finished her latest set of diagnostic charms. "However, most healing charms do not seem to work correctly."
"Yes, I was afraid of that, Poppy." Dumbledore sighed heavily. Most healing charms were actually human transfiguration and Harry was completely immune to that branch of magic. "I see Miss Delacour has not moved from her vigil."
"No, and if it were anyone else I could force them out." Poppy huffed as she shot a glare out at the young Veela. Not that she was truly upset the woman was keeping vigil. It was just Madam Pomfrey was used to being queen of her domain. "That is not a woman to get in a war of wills with, I doubt even You-Know-Who would win that contest."
"Perhaps not." Dumbledore chuckled. "When Mr. Potter wakes, let him use any magic he knows, Poppy. He has been injured before. I have no doubt and I am certain he knows what magic would work on his biology."
"As much as I am loathe to let patients heal themselves, I have little recourse." Poppy grimaced. "Could you make sure the elves bring Miss Delacour her meals. I doubt I could make her leave even for that."
"Ugh...I…hurt." Harry blinked his eyes open to see a bare white ceiling. His body was just a writhing mass of pain that one would expect from attempting to fight an enraged dragon alone. Well, given one survived. Shifting a bit in the bed he'd been laid in, he finally noticed there was a mass of silver-blonde hair on his chest. Since he had only seen that particular hair color on one woman he knew exactly who had fallen asleep on him. Unfortunately for him she was blocking access to the Tattoo he needed most at the moment. "Fleur, sweetie, can I get you to lift your head for just a minute please?"
Fleur didn't verbally respond. She had been sitting vigil over Harry for sixteen hours before she drifted off. Instead the veela moved a bit as if she knew exactly what Harry wanted. Luckily she uncovered a good section of the Phoenix tattoo. However in doing so she wrapped her arms around Harry's right arm, making it impossible to move it without waking her.
"You're laughing up there aren't you." Harry whispered softly as he glanced upwards.
Bracing himself against the pain he knew he would be feeling, He started moving his left arm. While the bones were no longer broken thanks to both the healing of the Phoenix tattoo and the dosage of skelegrow he'd been given while unconscious, the muscles in that arm were extremely tender. Each movement felt as if the entire arm was being shredded in a woodchipper. If he had been alone he would have moved quickly and screamed out his pain. As it was he did not want to wake Fleur he had to inch his hand towards his chest.
After what seemed like hours of pain, Harry finally was activate the Phoenix rising from the Flames. He sighed in relief as the powerful magic flowed through his body, repairing much of the damage that Molly had inflicted on him. Of course magic took it's toll and Harry felt the little bit of energy he had gained while unconscious was severely depleted.
"Oh, that's a lot better." He murmured to himself before lifting his head to see Fleur a bit better. As he had feared she was sitting in what looked to be an hard chair and was slumped across him. It could not have been comfortable. He contemplated pulling her into bed with him, but with the way she clung to his arm it might have woken her. Looking around for his wand he found it on the nightstand. Snatching the useful stick of wood he quickly whispered a somnus spell followed by a mobilus corpus. Fleur wouldn't release his arm so he laid her in the bed next to him as he budged over. Dispelling the charms he placed a kiss on her forehead before he fell back into the land of Morpheus.
Deep in the sub basement of Number 12 Grimmauld Place was a room the Black Family kept carefully hidden from others. One look at the decor was enough reason to know why. Almost every implement of torture devised in the history of the world was here and they were all in excellent working order. The room had at one point been the interrogation chamber used to extract useful information from the House of Black's enemies. For the last hundred years it was more a museum than anything else. Today, Sirius Black, was seriously contemplating using it for it's original purpose.
Johann Small was not a happy Dragon Handler at the moment. He was actually quite scared at the moment. As a Muggleborn, he recognized not just the ancient torture devices, but also the Electric Shock therapy machine among other things. It would not have been so terrifying if he wasn't securely chained to a rack of all things. Even that might have not been too bad except that he wasn't alone. A clearly furious Sirius Black was standing in the corner watching as Nymphadora Tonks played Good Auror.
"We know you potioned the Dragon, Johann. Only you and Charlie Weasley fed the Hungarian Horntail." Nymphadora Tonks was doing her best to keep a calm controlled tone. Normally she was the Bad Auror while Shacklebolt played Good Auror. However the last time she let Sirius near Johann there had been blood and pain. "Charlie testified under veritaserum that it wasn't him. Then there was the massive deposit in your Gringotts account. Normally they wouldn't have told us, but they like Harry, something that not many Wizards can actually claim."
"I'm not telling you anything. I know my rights." Johann grunted. "And if I just disappear, Lord Black over there will be a prime suspect."
"That's true, I would be." Sirius grinned ferally. "However, some torture and oblivation of the ability to form speech and I think I can refrain from killing you. I have wondered just how effective Electro Shock Therapy is. Lily told me that many muggles completely lost their minds under it."
"You can't let him do that! You're an Auror." Johann looked to Tonks and saw absolutely no sympathy.
"Well, as an Auror I would have to stop him from Obliviating any memories of his magical crimes." Tonks shrugged. "However, unless he uses magic to torture you it's not a magical crime. So you might want to start talking."
Fleur groaned as she felt the telltale tingle of the Hospital Bed emptying her bladder. While she was sure that immobilized patients probably appreciated the magic built in to the beds, the sensation was still disturbing. Shifting a bit as her mind began to fully wake, Fleur quickly realized she was not sitting in the chair by Harry's bed. She was most definitely lying down in a comfortable bed and if her senses were not fooling her, it was with Harry. After all she was practically using him as a mattress.
"Well that was slightly unpleasant." Harry grunted as the magic did the same thing to him that it had done to Fleur. A moment later there was the rumble of his belly reminding him that he had not eaten in some time. "I'm guessing it's time to wake up and face the day. Unless you think I should milk this for sympathy?"
"What? 'Ow did you know I was awake?" Fleur's eyes flew open. She had been just about to vacate the bed before he spoke, but had feigned sleep hoping to delay an awkward conversation about why she was sprawled out atop him.
"Your breathing changed and your grip tightened on my arm. Dead giveaway." Harry shrugged a little. "Are you sore at all? When I woke earlier you were slumped over my chest. It looked nearly as painful as the thrashing I received."
"Why didn't you wake me?" Fleur huffed.
"Because you were exhausted and as soon as I could reach the Phoenix I pretty much just wanted to pass out." Harry sighed. "After getting you in a more comfortable position with the death-grip you had on my arm, I went back to sleep. No reason to try and wake you."
"Oh, so I did not crawl into bed with you? I feel a little sheepish for trying to pretend to be asleep now." Fleur chuckled softly. "Well, I did promise that when you woke to notify Madam Pomfrey. If we delay it too long I 'ave the feeling she will keep you 'ere until tomorrow."
"I would at that, however I am here now so there is little need to fear a small bit of revenge." Poppy Pomfrey announced her presence making the two almost jump out of their skins. "I see you are finally fully awake, Mr. Potter-Andrus. I will assume your lack of visible bruising has to do with whatever magic you used on yourself before. While I would frown on a patient doing that, I find I cannot fault you. Many of the magical healing methods I employed just did not seem to work on you."
"Yeah, I used the Phoenix rising from the Flames. It handles most injuries, illnesses and so on and it's fast." Harry replied as he settled his heart. He really should have been paying better attention to his surroundings and not just focusing on Fleur. "I could have used my Wand of Life, but I just wanted to get back to sleep I was still so tired."
"Well, that is to be expected, Mr. Potter-Andrus. You had forty seven fractures in twenty two different bones, lost three pints of blood, suffered multiple lacerations, a massive puncture, and multiple acute contusions." Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "I was able to close the wounds, give you blood replenisher potions and skelegrow, but almost every other charm failed. When you have recovered and before the next Task I will want to learn any Healing magicks you know of so I can treat you properly."
"Unless you are willing to swear yourself as a member of Clan Andrus, the best I can do is teach you a few basic Incantations I have found I can use with a Wand." Harry said after a moment. "I am sorry if that upsets you, but I made Oaths."
"Hmph, I will think on this. I would enjoy learning new healing spells even if they aren't the ones that have restored your health." Madam Pomfrey nodded after a moment. "Now, Miss Delacour do you need me to apply another layer of salve or are you healed?"
"If I require another treatment I am certain I can have the salve applied for me." Fleur blushed a little. "However, I am not in pain now so I believe the need has passed."
"Very well. I have a pair of students serving detention who will bring you breakfast and nutrient potions. Once you have finished those and taken a shower you may both leave." Madam Pomfrey smiled warmly. "Since you are not staying, I had taken the liberty of putting all your get well gifts with your clothing. I daresay there is almost as much as when Hermione Granger was blinded."
"Draco, what is this twelve hundred galleon draft from your Trust Vault?" Lucius Malfoy was going to give his only son one chance to come clean. He had taken his Wife's warning about Harry Potter to heart. Oh, he definitely wanted to kill Potter, but understood that failure would result in his painful death. He had come to Hogwarts to meet with his son under the pretense of tutoring him in family magic. It was flimsy cover, but not likely to be investigated.
"I was just paying a bad gambling bet, Father." Draco responded with a shrug. "I believe I was fed misinformation, but as I believed it, that was entirely my fault. I have already docked half my allowance for the year to cover my draft. Of course I will have my revenge eventually, as a Malfoy always should."
Lucius had to admit that was all too plausible a story. If he had not known better, he would have bought it. Even the promise of delayed vengeance was convincing. If Draco had been lying to anyone else, Lucius would have rewarded him. As it was, his son needed to be taught a lesson. Draco never saw the cane coming as Lucius used it in the attempt to dislocate his jaw. As Draco sprawled on the ground, Lucius penned his wand hand to the floor with the cane.
"You dare lie to me?" Lucius roared as his son whimpered. "You were not subtle enough in your efforts to conceal your plots. Did you not listen when your Mother explained just how dangerous Potter is? No, don't answer I know you barely listen to either of us anymore." Lucius took a moment to calm his demeanor. "At least tell me that your agents did not know who was paying them."
"Of course not. I used Polyjuice and had an established alibi." Draco groaned as he felt the tip of the cane bruising not just flesh but bone underneath. "Only Parkinson knows anything and she's loyal."
"You should hope so, Draco. I have no doubt Lord Black is searching for the culprit as will be Potter." Lucius growled as he lifted his cane. "Now begone and pray this has no impact upon me or I might just need another heir."
"Ah, I see the two Leading Champions are awake." Pansy Parkinson was all smiles as she was leading a small food service cart towards Harry and Fleur. She might have been serving a detention, but it had been deliberate on her part. Plus it had been so much fun earning one from Madam Pomfrey. As if she would be careless enough to be screwing her secret boyfriend where just anyone could see. "Miss Delacour, since we know you are not a fan of heavy English Breakfasts, Ronald here spoke to your Headmistress and discovered your guilty pleasure: Banana stuffed chocolate crepes with a peanut butter brandy sauce, a croissant, strawberry jam, two poached eggs, coffee, and a glass of orange juice. Mr. Potter, we made you the same as your Godfather was not in the castle."
Fleur's eyes lit up as she saw the plate. It was indeed her favorite. Madame Maxime would take her once a week to a small cafe for this exact breakfast. It looked even better than what the cafe would serve. "Merci!"
"I-it was no problem." Ronald Weasley stumbled over his words as he was slammed by the Allure. It wasn't as bad as it had been before, thankfully. However he did not like how he acted under the influence, even if his girlfriend understood and given her tendencies was probably affected only a little less than he. "You two made me a small fortune."
"Really, you bet on us to win?" Harry was a bit puzzled as he saw this same redheaded boy in the Krum cheering section as well as hanging out with Hermione.
"Nope, I bet that two champions would tie and doubled down on most injured and least injured." Ron chuckled. "My eldest brother is dating an Egyptian Veela, I can never pronounce her name right. She does fire shows where she actually sets herself on fire, so I knew Fleur, if she avoided the claws and teeth, would come out unscathed. I had figured she might tie with Krum who is known for his insane risks, but he came out with just a dislocated shoulder. However, he managed to get half the eggs trampled, everyone docked him points for that except Karkaroff."
"Currently the scores are: Krum 47, Diggory 50, Delacour 55, and Potter 55. Some argue that Karkaroff cheated you out of a clear win Mr. Potter, given he only gave you a five." Pansy sighed as she began setting out the nutrient potions. "I'm sorry, Miss Delacour but as impressive as putting a dragon to sleep all alone is, slaying an enraged Dragon singlehandedly hasn't been done since…"
"Saint George. Oui, I understand." Fleur shook her head. "I am quite in agreement that 'Arry 'as been robbed. Though I am more worried about 'oo could 'ave potioned that Dragon into such a rage."
"Oh, I am not sure who actually did it, but I know who paid them to do it." Pansy smirked. "My oh so stupid betrothed, Draco Malfoy. Just when you kill him, make sure you tell him this is payback for third year, he'll understand."
"Why would you be telling us this?" Harry was a little leery. "And why should we believe you?"
"The first, I want out of my betrothal. I found a real man who may be flawed, but he loves me for me, not what I can do for him." Pansy smiled as she thought of her boyfriend. "As for the second, I don't expect you to. I expect you will investigate it thoroughly. I'm just telling you who you'll end up with."
