Disclaimer: Harry Potter will pay only to Rowling.

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Feathers, Fangs and Flames

Chapter XI

The Fire

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He left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall. She didn't seem herself either; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione or Ginny. As she walked him down the stone steps and out into the chilly November afternoon, she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head… We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand… The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you… Are you all right?"

"Yes," Harry heard himself say. "Yes, I'm fine."

She was leading him toward the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, Harry saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view. Their smell however was in the air as thick as fog, shrouding everything else. Even the scent of the excited crowd couldn't push it away.

"You're to go in here with the other champions," said Professor McGonagall, in a rather shaky sort of voice, "and wait for your turn, Potter. Mr. Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you the - the procedure… Good luck."

"Thanks," said Harry, in a flat, distant voice. She left him at the entrance of the tent. Harry rubbed his eyes, tired because of the lack of sleep in these last few days, and went inside.

As he entered he found himself under the gaze of all champions. Cedric gave him a small smile; Krum nodded his head in recognition, only Fleur eyed him as an annoying fly. Harry returned the nod and smile, feeling his face muscles working rather hard, as though they were being used seconds after the change.

For one, Ludo Bagman seemed to be the happiest one to see him – Harry was greeted warmly, and the wizard looked ecstatic to see him participating, even when the task was yet to start. The champions had to draw a dragon from a bag and Harry's heart fell after having drawn the Hungarian Horntail – the most dangerous of the lot. After a quick introduction about the task, Bagman ushered Harry outside for a few words.

Harry felt his wolf distrusting the man, and only barely managed to listen to his proposal to help. Ludo flinched under Harry's long, distrustful stare and gave up. He just patted Potter on the shoulder and wished him luck. It was pure luck that Harry managed to hold himself from growling at the wizard – his wolf despised the unexplainable familiarity from someone not in the pack.

His trembling legs brought him back inside. The wolf felt stronger than usual, and trying to fight him with all the looming danger was exhausting. Having slept for only three hours in the last two days was also a reason for his weakness in the inner struggle.

Cedric walked past him, but Harry was too occupied with the wolf to even wish him luck. The screams and yells of the crowd were also pushed aside. His wolf renewed its efforts with each step the Swedish Short-Snout took against Diggory. It was a maddening experience to leave the pictures for the imagination, only hearing and smelling the course of the struggle...

Then, Fleur, and after her, Krum started their tries.

Harry was sitting, his right hand clutching his left, with nails bruising the skin, when the applause for Krum started. He jumped up, squeezing the hand so much, that he felt the nails pierce the skin. The barely visible drops of blood surfaced and the smell of his own blood woke him up. He straightened himself, whipped the sweat from his face and, when he heard a whistle blow, he walked out of the tent the panic rising into a crescendo inside him. And now he was walking past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence.

He saw everything in front of him as though it was a whirlwind of a black and white dream.

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Yellow eyes met green, and everything else disappeared from the view. There was only him and his enemy. Harry was clutching his wand with such force he even feared it might break to shards in his hand. The smells were overwhelming, but his wolf growled and seemingly helped him focus.

Harry was too tired to fight the wolf, so he gave in, and let out a low and silent growl. Surprisingly, the dragon heard him. The Horntail was crouched low over her clutch of eggs, a monstrous, scaly black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail. She let out a burst of flames towards him. It was a bit too far to get burned, but he felt the heat matching the anger inside of him.

He raised his wand.

"Accio Firebolt!" he shouted.

Then, he slowly started circling the beast. Like a wolf stalking his prey. She froze in place, only eyes following his movement.

The broom wasn't coming.

Harry took another step to the side.

The broom wasn't coming.

Another step.

Without warning, she shifted to face him straight again and smoke started rising from her nostrils. Harry didn't even flinch. He prepared for the leap, the spell Remus had taught him on the lips...

Then, he smelled it, he smelled it behind everything - the stink of flame, the strangest smells of the crowd, and the slightly sour scent of the golden egg, a hint of the lake - his Firebolt was racing towards him. As it got near, he jumped and grabbed the broom, mounting it in the air. He zoomed up, relief washing over him.

The dragon was eyeing him like a man looks at an annoying fly. His wolf growled, insulted and full of anger. Harry dove towards her, rolling out of the way of the flame, diving under the swinging tail, and flying past her side.

Her head was tracing him in the air, spraying fire everywhere. The dragon fire burned the air, and soon Harry found himself breathing heavily. But he didn't care all he knew - he needed one mistake. One mistake of the beast and he would soar down and grab the glittering egg, the one with slightly golden hue. However, it was him, who made the first mistake - he misjudged the distance of the tail and saw it soaring towards him. Somehow he managed to twist and turn and was only glanced by it. Still, the force of impact threw him on the ground, the broom clattering near him. A loud gasp escaped him, as the impact blew the air out of his lungs. His whole body was bruised and there was an annoying pain in his right leg. His left arm was bleeding - he probably was hit by a tail spike.

He started laughing - it was just a sting, compared to what he had to endure each month. Slowly rising to his feet, he took a broom in his hands and saw that the dragon was almost upon him - she had moved away from the nest, just a step or two, but she was away from the egg. It was his chance. A quick incantation and a well aimed spell made Horntail roar with anger - blinded, she started spraying fire towards the place Harry was standing. But he wasn't there - Harry was in the air again, soaring high above her. The moment he saw the eye of the flaming storm, he dove towards the golden egg and snatched it in his hand. The flames tried to lick him, but he was just too fast.

The dragon still pouncing around and the handlers already rushing to restrain him, Harry rose high above the crowd and raised the egg in the air with his injured hand. Only then did he hear the crowd cheering and applauding. He almost dropped the egg out of surprise - the crowd was as loud as the Irish supporters at the World Cup. He couldn't understand how he didn't hear anything while facing the dragon. Harry's barking laughter echoed throughout the stadium, and he wasn't trying to stop.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"

Harry saw Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet him, all of them waving him toward them, their smiles evident even from this distance. He was still laughing when he landed in front of McGonagal, his clothes covered in dirt and blood, his eyes tired from the lack of sleep, his hand bleeding, but still holding the egg high above.

"That was excellent, Potter!" cried Professor McGonagall as he got off the Firebolt - which from her was extravagant praise. He noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at his wound. "You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score… Over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already…"

His laughter died as his legs almost gave away, and only Hagrid being nearby and catching him stopped him from falling on the ground. Harry slowly straightened himself, his legs still protesting the weight they were normally used to carry on daily basis. The right one pained to be standing on.

"Potter?" McGonagall was slightly pale.

"I'm fine." Harry muttered, feeling exactly opposite – it was too noisy, too many scents were assaulting him, and he was losing too much blood. And that's even without counting how tired he felt.

"Right then, Potter, the first aid tent, please…" She rushed him, without giving time for Hagrid or Moody tell him anything – there were the smiles that said enough, though.

Harry was led out of the enclosure, slightly limping, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried.

"Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside.

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"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione had darted into the tent, followed by Ron and Ginny.

"You were amazing!" said Ginny, "how is your arm?"

Harry only raised his left hand for them to see that it was already healed. He didn't speak; he was just looking at Ron intently. His wolf, for some reason had retreated back, and he could only feel the shade of it. But he knew what the wolf thought – he had no place in the pack for the betrayer.

"Harry," Ron said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I – I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

Harry just laughed with a fake, barking laughter. "Caught on, have you?" You couldn't even see the hint of laughter in his face; the worlds were cold, said with a silent growl. "Took you long enough."

Hermione glanced at Ron, and then at Harry. She opened her mouth, but was hushed by Ginny.

Harry was staring Ron in the eyes.

Ron gulped and shifted his legs uncomfortably. "I'm sorry..." It sounded sincere. "I was..."

"It's okay," he said, before Ron could finish. "Forget it."

"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've -"

"Forget it, "Harry said.

Ron grinned nervously at him, but Harry didn't grin back.

"Ron, I really, and I mean really miss having you as my friend, but I can't accept you back that soon." Harry's voice was hollow. "I want you to be by my side, and for you to joke with me, to talk with me... I hope to call you friend soon enough..."

Ron nodded.

Harry extended his hand. "Harry Potter."

"Ron Weasley".

They shook hands. This time Ron's weak smile was matched by Harry's own.

Hermione burst into tears. Ginny hugged her from behind.

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told both of them, bewildered.

"You two are so stupid!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had escaped Ginny's grasp and had given both of them a hug and dashed away, now positively howling. Ginny just smiled at Harry and ran after Hermione.

"Barking mad," said Ron, shaking his head. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores…"

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, feeling better than he would have believed possible an hour ago, Harry ducked out of the tent, Ron by his side, talking fast.

"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock..."

Harry listened, nodding at the right places, but smiled when he heard that he had used the same spell Krum did. Although, according to Ron, his dragon didn't destroy any of the eggs, so Harry's score should be bigger.

In the end, he was a point behind Krum.

"They probably took away some points for your arm."

"And the leg." Harry allowed. Seeing the confused glace Ron gave him, he explained. "Pomfrey said the bone was fractured. She set it right."

Ron opened his mouth, then closed it, and finally opened it again, and only then did the words appear. "But... How did you manage to walk to the tent with a broken leg?"

Harry scratched his head. "I don't know, it was probably the rush from the task..."

Ron was silent after that, so Harry started listening to the cheers – he was at the second place, and almost on equal footing with Krum, and Gryffindors were ecstatic. The best thing was that it wasn't just Gryffindors that cheered for him, and he could see one bright Ravenclaw face, with two glittering tears on her cheek. Cho's hair was tied up in the back, and she was looking into his eyes. She waved at him. Harry raised the egg into the air again, and waved back with it, his own gaze never leaving her tears. She wiped them with her hand and beamed at him.

The first task was finally over.

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It was a celebration in the Gryffindor common room, when someone had the idea they all came to regret:

"Blimey, this is heavy," said Lee Jordan, picking up the golden egg, which Harry had left on a table, and weighing it in his hands. "Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

After a few seconds of hesitation, a screech filled the room.

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Everything was in shades of grey and swirling around – Harry couldn't see anything clearly. Surprisingly, everything was completely silent, so the only thing he could do, was smell. Judging by the smells, not long had passed and he was still in the Gryffindor common room, but there was a strong imprint of the lake and fish – so much, that he felt almost as bad as he was after drinking Wolfsbane potion. Most of the Gryffindors were standing around him, including Ron, Neville, Ginny and Hermione.

Finally the world faded back into the view and Harry saw the concerned faces of the Gryffindors. Hermione was saying something, but it was too silent to hear. Ron leaned closer to look at him.

"What?" He managed.

Something was said.

Harry rubbed his ears. "Say that again."

"...you hear me?"

"Almost." He got up, head spinning. "It's a bit too much of excitement for one day..."

"... to Pomfrey..." Hermione's voice reached him.

"No, I'm just dizzy. I think it's mostly the heat from the task getting to my head."

Ron helped him up the stairs as the sounds returned to him again. Just before leaving, Harry showed thumbs up to the gathered Gryffindors, raising a few smiles in the room and earning another round of applause.

"What did you hear?" Harry asked Ron as soon as he was on the bed. "What happened to me?"

"The egg screamed, it was very loud and annoying... my ears still hurt a little. Then, your expression changed to the one of pain and you collapsed clutching your ears. We were too shocked to do something, but Ginny jumped and closed the egg... And then your eyes – they were more grey than green for a second. But I probably imagined that..."

"And the smell, was it strong? Did you feel anything at all?"

"What smell?" Ron looked confused.

"Lake and grass, fish and water..."

Ron shrugged. "I guess not. I couldn't smell anything... Why do you ask?"

"It's just... I thought the sound was a distraction and the clue was in the scent – it seemed too powerful and not mean anything. But you didn't feel anything, so it's probably not it..."

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Harry was rolling in his bead, as he heard a flutter of wings outside. The window was slightly open to let in a bit of the air – it was enough to get a clear scent of the forest and the bird flying. She was approaching the tower, and Harry was up just as there was a silent tap on the glass.

"Hedwig," he whispered, fully opening the window, "do you have something for me?"

A small envelope was dropped in his extended hand.

Cinnamon.

He patted Hedwig on the head and watched her leave into the night. Ron mumbled in his sleep. Everybody else were well asleep – it was just after party and most were very tired. Harry, perhaps, most of them all, but still it was hard to convince himself he could sleep safely.

He almost tore the envelope open, but then saw even, but slightly rushed handwriting on the envelope.

Your owl seems very smart. At least, I hope it is your owl. She didn't let me give the letter to any other.

Harry climbed back into his bead and closed the curtains, leaving only a small gap – it was dark, but not a total darkness – that was enough for him. He slowly and carefully opened the envelope, as if scared of what he could see inside.

There was a small sheet of thin, white paper, smelling of cinnamon, wind and sea. The handwriting was slightly shaky, but otherwise beautiful. The letter was marked with a spot of ink and one or two spots of tears.

Harry,

I have tried to write this letter a few times, but never was satisfied with it. But after the first task, I understood that I cannot delay it any longer. I was scared, watching you face a dragon. A dragon – I almost died out of fear. And you were your usual Gryffindor, rushing into danger. When you fell, my heart stopped. Please don't let me feel something like this again.

I wanted to say that I'm sorry about my reaction to my mother's letter. It was sudden and I chose the wrong thing to do. Marietta has been hounding me about it for these few days. I decided to tell you after the task, but you were injured, and I saw you talking with your friends and didn't want to intrude. Now it's late and I probably won't see you until the morning at the earliest. I couldn't sleep, so I am writing this in hopes of sending it before the curfew starts.

I miss your company. I think I don't really care what my mother thinks nor what that Skeeter writes. I'd like to meet you and talk some day. But for now, let me just repeat – I'm sorry and I was stupid for trying to break our friendship. I hope we can talk after breakfast tomorrow. I hope you don't hate me.

Yours,

Cho

It was quite some time until his heart started beating normally, and Harry, clutching the letter in his hand, with a smile on his face, fell asleep. A miniature Hungarian Horntail was watching him from the table.

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He was running in a forest, and for the first time it wasn't silent in the slightest. There was someone running alongside him, their shadows dancing between the trees, his bare feet hurting with each jump. The heavy smoke and fire smell was slowing him down, his breath uneven and tired. The black wolf spared him a glanced and jumped over a bush. Harry just kept running, branches tearing at his chest. Behind them there was a wall of heat approaching, a flap of dragon wings. He stumbled and fell, the flames reaching his feet in a blink.

Harry opened his eyes. It was almost time to get up. He inhaled deeply, noticing Neville walking to the showers, and the barely noticeable letter still in his arm – it was slightly crumpled, but still readable. He quickly skimmed through it again... Yours. A smile crept on his face again. Cho.

He stood up, and stretched his arms wide, his wolf waking up with him. Harry shook his head – the dream was unpleasant, but it might have been worse – perhaps he would manage to remain in the good mood for the most of the day.

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When he went down to breakfast, he was one of the first students to arrive.

Surprisingly, Malfoy was also there, and, as soon as Harry's gaze met his, he lowered his head and stopped the conversation he was having with Nott. Harry could see the ear, mangled and slightly deformed, but otherwise quite alright.

Guilt assailed him, but he pushed it aside and started eating, from time to time sparing a glance towards the entrance and Ravenclaw table.

Quite some time had passed, or, at least Potter thought it had, when someone tried to sneak up on him. Harry turned around with a glare, and found himself staring at a slightly frightened face of Ron.

"Blimey, Harry, why didn't you tell me you were already going for breakfast?"

"I forgot."

"And I was walking silently, trying not to wake you up..."

Harry smiled. "Didn't you notice that I get up earlier than you?"

"Yeah, after..." Ron eyes flickered in panic for a moment. He hid it by taking a quick bite of bread. "Since last term, you do get up early..."

Harry grinned. "You don't have to be that careful around me."

Hermione arrived and sat on his left, "How are you feeling after yesterday?"

"Good." He smiled. "I even slept well."

Ginny was approaching too, but he smelled Cho and turned to wave to her. She returned the wave, but as she was with classmates, she didn't come closer. Harry reddened, when he understood that her friends were stealing glances at him and pestering her about him.

As Cho matched his shade, he tried to listen to their conversation, but then he was pinched from behind.

There, staring at him, was one Ginny Weasley. "I said 'Good Morning' two times."

"Hello, Ginny."

She giggled. "So, is it still 'not like that'?" She walked off, without waiting his answer, towards her classmates.

Harry, still fighting the slight embarrassment, just turned back to face the table, and consequently, look past it at the Ravenclaws and one beautiful black haired girl in particular...

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Harry watched her telling her classmates to go on without her. Then, she turned towards him, armed with a slight smile and walked up to him.

"Cho," he smiled. "It's really good to see you again. I read your letter..."

A hint of tears appeared in her eyes and suddenly, she hugged him. The cinnamon, mixed with tea and salt flooded his senses once again. He reached out, slightly afraid, and wrapped his hands around her. They stood in silence for a few seconds. Harry could fell her heart beating, her warmth making him feel safe. He tightened his grip slightly, her breath tickling his neck.

His hand touched her smooth hair, and hers found the back of his neck. Then, almost at the same time, they released each other and stood there, eyes locked.

"I'm sorry." She began.

"Please, Cho, just forget it..."

"But it was the first difficult thing for me, and I just ran away..."

"Cho." He wiped away her tear, his touch making her shiver. "You came back."

She was smiling. "Thank you."

"I missed you too." He whispered.

She heard him – he could see the bright spark in her brown eyes.

"Perhaps later..." Harry said, "we could meet again?"

"Perhaps?" She winked at him. "Of course."

Harry barely held himself from starting to jump up and down.

Cho glanced at corridor, seeing that it was mostly empty. "I think I should run, I don't want to be late much..."

"Are you free on Friday evening?" His question froze her in her tracks.

"Yes, after defence with Moody in the afternoon..."

"I'll find you then..." Harry was grinning like a fool.

"I'm looking forward to it, Harry."

She hugged him again, for a second or two and left; her warmth and aroma still around him.

I could so get used to that...

"Later, Cho!" His shout was accompanied with a wave she gladly returned...

Only after she moved away he understood that she was already in his pack, even before her letter. The wolf's grin matched his own.

Ron just couldn't understand why he was smiling the whole day.

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The chapter has a few paragraphs directly from Rowling's Goblet of Fire. I didn't mark them as not to break the flow.