C. M. Black: Skin of a Dragon
XI: The Game Plan
Not for the first time in her years at Hogwarts, Cassy became aware of how often she visited the library. The habitual scrapings of Madam Pince's quill across another order form of books, the muffled giggling of friends who had slowly become distracted from their homework once more, or the fluttering of pages as the books in the Restricted Section grumbled to themselves all sounded dreadfully familiar. It was of no surprise to her that she spent so much time in the library for in forth year. As much as her friends hovered around, it was not unusual for them to part some afternoons. Harry would brood and become languished at the sudden thought of the tournament; Neville was spending more time with Luna on weekend afternoons; Ginny had friends in her own year; Hermione was concentrating on her work in preparation for O. so intensely that she would often be in the library somewhere too, just far enough away that Cassy could not possibly distract her.
Cassy would never have said she minded the time to herself. She often got to speak to Stephen Goodridge or Astoria Greengrass, on the occasional the girl actually braved venturing towards her. She was even glad, in fact, that she spent time alone in the library for it meant avoiding subjecting her friends to Benjamin Shandy when he decided to crop up like an unwanted weed in the weekday evenings.
The time she had spent had given her an extraordinarily good sense of where to look for books. She no longer needed the days to find information as she had when looking for information on the Basalisk in second year; there was, she doubted, nothing she could not find in hours if needed. So it was when she slid a thick, dusty tome over the table to Harry that his face lit up and her looked immensely close to cheering with joy.
'Excellent,' he said. 'Nice find.'
'Believe it or not, the library is actually divided into useful sections. Not that you would know,' she said, resting her head on the palm of her hand.
Harry ignored her and continued to scan through the pages.
'I was thinking that a distraction is best. It will have to be something all of them will dislike, or like enough to turn away to let you pass. There must be something, but to find that we will need to know about each of the breeds. Hermione has them written down somewhere,' she continued, peering across to Luna's book, which she appeared to be reading backwards.
'Dragons like shiny things, right? Jewels and such. So why don't we have you transfigure a massive gem,' said Neville.
'There were eggs there,' interjected Ginny quickly. 'If they're mother dragons there is no way they would leave them for just a jewel. Charlie says they're impossible to approach during nesting because they're so vicious and protective. I just don't think they would leave that easily.'
'Can – can we give them something else to attack, maybe?' suggested Harry thoughtfully.
'If there is something more threatening than you on the field then maybe it would focus on that and give you a clear path,' said Luna.
'Exactly.' Harry nodded.
Everyone fell into a silent contemplation. The library was mostly silent as the day drew steadily into the afternoon. There was a slight rustling of bags as students began to gather their things and descend to lunch that would be starting soon. They swept past with the occasional glance, or 'Good luck on Tuesday, Harry'.
Hermione bustled back to the table, several books gathered in her arms. 'Any thoughts?'
'We want to put something more dangerous than Harry on the field to distract the dragon,' said Luna.
Hermione's eyebrows rose. 'Like what?'
'We're not sure,' admitted Harry.
'Well, we can flick through these books and have a look, although the last lot haven't been of much use,' she said, passing them down.
'Actually, Cassy found a good bit about their senses and down here it mentions what to do if they breathe fire at you,' he said, pointing at the line, although Hermione could not read from such a distance.
'Does it say "Get out the way?"' she asked, slumping down into a chair.
'More or less, but it also tells you things you can't use to block. Ordinary shields won't work... normal water spells won't work either. It says they will just be evaporated,' he read off.
'So besides distractions do we have any ideas?' asked Ginny.
'Well, what is more likely: getting past it, or having to get something from it?' questioned Cassy.
They were virtually the same question on the surface. Getting past the dragon would mean that Harry could get whatever was beyond it, but that depended on where it was and how much time it would take. With her eyes narrowing slightly, Cassy entertained the thought that perhaps distracting it would not be enough. Harry needed to be quick and he needed to able to have the means to get whatever might be there – if there was anything to collect. If the distraction was to fail and he was too slow, the dragon would turn on him.
'Hey!' said Harry loudly. 'What about this?'
Everyone suddenly turned to him.
He cleared his throat and began, 'Dragons have a natural fondness of jewels, which is why the first indicator of a dragon cave is the surrounding nests of the maginpie, a large black and white bird with small, glittering eyes. They too are partial to rare stones and are considered the natural enemy of the dragon because of their daring attempts to steal dragon treasure. Due to the closeness of their habitats, the maginpie have thought to have developed a keen taste for dragon eggs, making them particularly disliked.'
'Of course,' muttered Cassy, 'the Treasure Hunters.'
'The what?' asked Hermione, who had quickly taken the book away from Harry to read the paragraph herself.
'Treasure Hunter birds,' said Ginny with a grin. 'Mum used to tell us stories with them in. They steal from travellers and dragons to feed their obsession with shiny objects. They live close to dragon nests because they are creatures capable of trade and amusement. Their wealth will bring in a mate and it will also keep other maginpie's away because they will trade off jewels for their lives.'
'They eat the young of any animal, really. Any mothering dragon will be most upset to have them near her nest. She will surely care more about the maginpie than Harry,' added Luna.
'But what do they look like?' asked Hermione with a deep frown.
'And I have today and tomorrow... there is no way I can learn to summon one by then,' groaned Harry. His initial excitement had dimmed immensely. It was brilliant to know a dragon's fear, but it was useless if he could do nothing with it.
'Blue with white wings,' said Neville.
'More or less like a magpie, only instead of black they are blue and their eyes are a bright orange, like garnet itself. They are also about the size of a cat. They are of the same family,' said Cassy.
Harry nodded slowly. 'That doesn't change the fact that I can't summon one.'
'Don't. You should transfigure it,' uttered Hermione. She was still peering intensely at the book and had flicked several pages back, scanning each line.
They had done transfiguration of objects into animals and often worked on birds, but Harry still looked dubious. There was part of him that still very much doubted that to the keen senses of a dragon his transfigured animal would look anything like a maginpie, especially not if dodging a steady stream of fire. However, he picked up his wand and pointed down at the nearest book. His brow furrowed for a moment and suddenly a lumpy black mass appeared before them. It was ruffled, with feathers sticking out in all directions and certainly had white on its wings. For a moment, the book had transformed into a passable simple magpie, but slowly the neck began to bend and it slumped down and off the table with an audible thud.
There was a long moment of silence. Harry and Cassy slowly peered over the edge of the desk at the slowly moving mass.
'Harry, that was disgusting,' said Hermione shortly.
Harry reeled back. He shrugged, 'This doesn't seem like too much of a simple plan.'
'It's as simple as our plans are going to get,' said Ginny.
'The task is two days away,' reminded Luna.
Harry groaned and so did the bird that remained on the floor.
'Harry, please,' said Cassy, staring at it.
'You just need practise. You over think things and get stressed and that's why they won't work. It's like the summoning charm all over again. You can do it, you just think you can't,' said Hermione easily, moving to wedge her chair between him and Neville.
They ignored the bird on the ground, which was just as well seeing as it turned back into a book minutes later, having successfully died painlessly on the floor. Harry scooped the book back up and tried again once more before they finally headed down to catch the end of lunch. They spoke of timing and distance, plotting exactly where to place the birds – several was needed to ensure attention was drawn away, they decided, but not too many or else the dragon may become too sensitive to movement – and if Harry needed any other tricks to truly disorientate it.
Talk over lunch soon trailed off to what the other champions were likely to do. That conversation tapered off quickly though. They had enough trouble inventing a plan for Harry, their imaginations could not even begin to formulate other ideas.
The rest of the day was spent practising and continued well into the evening. Harry was awake early Monday morning to prepare too and lunch was spent in much the same way. As lunch trailed to an end though and people began to filter off to their next lessons, Harry suddenly stood, hurrying out of the hall with his bag still stuffed under the table. Cassy rolled her eyes at him, knowing exactly where he had rushed off to. Cedric Diggory must have left the hall.
Sure enough, Harry waded his way back towards through the throng of departing bodies only moments later.
'Is your sense of justice finally relieved?' asked Cassy as he stooped down to collect his bag.
He looked up in surprise and then laughed. Everyone else turned with questioning stares, but they strode off to their next lesson before anyone had a chance to ask.
'Tonight is going to be a long night,' said Harry, stretching as they approached the marble staircases.
'I can ask Plum to bring us some drinks,' said Cassy.
'You guys don't have to stay up, you know,' he said. 'I'll get it on my own.'
Hermione snorted and Neville peered up at him with a lopsided grin. 'Don't be silly. It's our plan too, you know.'
'We are a little too invested to not see how it will go now,' said Cassy.
Harry grinned down at her, looking far more confident than she knew he felt.
Time moved too quickly. Yet, it was too slow. Hardly concentrating on their morning lessons, everyone was peering around at the clocks on the wall, each trying to catch the passing attention of Harry as he grew paler and paler as the day progressed. He had been more cheerful the night before, having mastered, at least they hoped, the transfiguration spell and he had even forced them to stay up until the early hours of the morning helping him devise a backup at the discretion of Professor Moody, who had pulled him aside Monday afternoon.
Harry stared down at the toast Hermione had passed him blankly. She feverishly buttered her own, before setting it down too to stare at him with intense concern. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly; no sound came out.
'I can make you a flower wreath like in first year,' said Cassy softly.
Neville huffed a tired laugh, but Harry's face remained white with absolutely no hint of embarrassment, not even the slightest tint of pink to show he had even heard her as the older boys turned to stare at her comment.
Neville leant across the table and muttered, 'I mean, really, what's the difference between Voldemort and a dragon?'
'A stadium full of people?' responded Harry dully.
No one said anything after that. Harry continued to stare at his food, occasionally lifting it as if to eat it, but then soon just smeared the buttered side around his plate as the continued to think. Even as Luna slipped into the seat beside him, he did not look up.
'Is he okay?' asked Luna in her delicate voice.
'He'll be fine,' said Neville, forcing a smile. 'Won't you, Harry?'
Harry looked up at the sound of his name and then blinked quickly at the sight of Luna's painted face. She had black dotted at the end of her nose and large black stripes on either cheeks. Her entire face was a deep red.
'What is that?' asked Harry.
'Why, I am the Gryffindor lion, of course,' said Luna with a smile.
Harry made a low noise at the back of his throat and turned to inspect everyone else's faces. He did not have time to ask any more about it, for Professor McGonagall was all ready striding towards him, gathering a great deal of attention as she did so.
'Potter,' she said, her voice less steady than her face, 'the champions are required to go down to the grounds now for the first task.'
Harry nodded wordlessly and pushed the plate of uneaten toast away from him. His friends all whispered him good luck, although it was clear from his glazed eyes that he had not really heard a word of it.
As soon as he was out of sight, the hall burst into loud chatter. People began to gather their coats, ready to descend to watch at the first sign to go.
'I've never seen him so nervous,' said Ginny in a hushed, frantic whisper. 'Do you think he's really all right?'
'He's facing a dragon,' said Cassy flatly.
Hermione cut in with a quick, 'He'll be fine! It's not like the teachers will let anything happen to him, no matter what they say.'
Cassy frowned at the thought of it. She did not consider there was too much they could do if the dragon struck, but surely the Headmaster had something tucked away for such an occasion. Cassy frowned deep at the cold sensation spreading across her cheek. She turned slowly.
'What are you doing?' she asked Luna, gazing down at the red pallet in her friend's hand.
'I thought I might be nice if we all showed support for Harry, especially as no one else will be,' said said and dipped her middle finger in the pot of gold to place another streak below the red stripe on Cassy's cheek.
Cassy said nothing as Luna turned her head and repeated it on the other side. The Hufflepuff's were certainly going to be wearing their house colours. Luna then moved over to her other side, leaning across the table to paint Neville in bolder curving lines than Cassy's war strokes. Soon enough, they all had some sort of paint on, even Fred and George, who had hurried over to have theirs done as soon as they caught sight of the paint, looking very much like a pair of red and gold skulls.
They quickly wrapped themselves up in their scarves and coats, slipping through the crowd as people began to rise at the first motion to descend to the pitch. They wanted good seats, although they could not agree on exactly what they counted as, yet at the sight of them striding through the doorway, everyone was set into motion. The Weasley twins overtook them easily with their long legs, shouting a teasing remark back at them before almost slipping down the wet stone steps.
The weather was icy. A cold chill had come over from the North-East and filled the sky with a dull grey. It was cloudless and dim, with calm air that would be perfect for Harry's transfiguration; the feathers would not even have to be able to move. It was an easier task, as long as the weather held.
'Is Potter ready then?' came a voice from beside her.
Cassy looked up to see Stephen Goodridge peering down at her with a look of interest. She said, 'As much as he will ever be.'
Goodridge nodded. 'Suppose he has to be, although he didn't look too calm this morning.'
Peering beyond Goodridge, Cassy could see Shandy a few paces behind talking to an Asian girl, with dark eyes and sharp features. A Ravenclaw, decided Cassy from the briefest slither of her tie peaking beneath her coat.
'Do you know what the task is then?' asked Goodridge.
'Of course not,' answered Cassy easily.
'Really?' he said in disbelief. 'You did not look into it at all?'
'Rules and rules. We would not want Harry to be disqualified or anything,' said Cassy with a smile and he snorted at her.
'Sure. Lovely face paint by the way. A proud fan of the underdog?'
'I am hoping it will catch on, actually. By the Yule Ball I want it to be the defining style of the evening,' she said.
Goodridge laughed, 'Potter's War Stripes... well, if he does well today you might just see it catching on.' His eyes stopped roaming the crowd in front. Cassy tried to pinpoint where his attention had been directed, but the height difference made it too difficult to tell for certain. He then clapped her on the shoulder and said, 'The best of luck to Potter, yeah? I'll catch you later.'
With that, Goodridge sprinted ahead, sliding to a halt beside a tiny blonde girl. She barely looked up at him.
There was a small craw behind Cassy and Shandy suddenly appeared at her side, beaming with a smile stretching for ear to ear.
'Kind of sad, isn't it?' he said, nodding towards Goodridge.
'Who is she?' asked Cassy curiously as Goodridge grinned at whatever they were talking about.
'Natalia Faulks,' he said, eyes shining.
'Henry Faulks' daughter?' said Cassy with renewed interest. 'I thought she was older.'
'She just looks older because of how much make-up she has on her face. Anyway, it is quite sad, is it not?' he said with a small shake of his head and a playfully wistful look.
Cassy watched Goodridge and Faulks. He smiled at her continuously, but she hardly took a moment to even look back at him, keeping her head facing forward as he spoke. Losing interest quickly, Cassy turned her attention to the giant, wooden structure at the base of the hill. A box sat high above the rows of benches, five empty seats sat behind the long table. The doors opened as they approached and the students began to file into the rows of curving benches. The five of them slipped into a row four lines back and high enough that they could see nearly all of the rocky plain contained in the massive stadium. At the far side of the grounds was not a wall, but instead a thick set of trees, old and tall, like all that lined the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A large metal loop protruded from the centre rocks.
'This is huge,' breathed Neville. 'I know adult dragons are big, but a ring this size...'
Hermione turned to Cassy with a frown. 'What was that back there?'
'We are not friends, if that is what you are referring to,' said Cassy, her eyes still preening the stadium. 'Goodridge and I get on reasonably well and Shandy is always around with him. There is nothing to be concerned about.'
'I don't like him still,' replied Hermione.
Small collections of affiliations were forming. The crowd was splitting, the Gryffindors having surrounded the five of them and as far away from the Hufflepuffs as possible. Many Slytherins were near the Durmstrang students and the Beaubatons were nearest to the Ravenclaws, who appeared less hesitant to mix with the unpopular house of lions, who had largely adorned their house scarves in support.
'Ladies and gentlemen!' called the booming voice of Crouch for the high box.
Everyone turned their heads. His wand was pointed at his throat and he surveyed every single student until they fell into total silence. He looked pale, as if the magnitude of what he was about to begin had sunk in, but the stern pull at the corners of his mouth had yet to fade. Behind him sat Professor Dumbledore, Madam Maxine, and Karkaroff. The fifth seat was empty when Crouch waved a hand behind him to each judge in turn.
'It is a momentous occasion for all present. This opportunity is unlike any other, unseen for centuries only to be witnessed first-hand by all of you here today. It is a great honour for Britain to host these games... and a tremendous to see them here, at Hogwarts, for what is sure to begin a strong and substantial international link in the co-operation of Wizarding folk all across Europe. For the champions beyond those trees, I say that there is no greater honour than what we shall see here today. May they do their schools and countries proud. With that said, it is my great pleasure to officially begin the Tri-Wizard Tournament!'
A thunderous applause ripped through the crowd. Banners and flags were waving crazily; whistles and screamed pierced through the grounds; students were all ready on their feet, fists high in the air.
'Get on with it all ready!' roared the Weasley twins, their hands cupped around their mouths.
The cheering did not begin to die down until Crouch raised his wand to his throat once more.
'Each contestant is to test their nerve and quick thinking in the first task. They will be set against a teacher with no prior knowledge and forced to react to complete the task that they have been told of only moments ago. To judge this is the three Headteachers, Professor Dumbledore, Madam Maxine, and Professor Karkaroff, along with myself and Mister Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports,' announced Crouch, pausing only to let each judge receive a cheer. 'Now, on to the first task. Their task will be to collect a golden egg from this plane...'
'Collection?' repeated Hermione. 'This is fine, we have prepared for this one.'
'An egg though? Aren't they nesting mothers?' asked Neville.
Hermione bit her lip and Cassy pursed her own. That was fine, she told herself, they knew they were nesting, so they had thought of the vicious response to Harry many times over. The only issue that would arrive is if they had hid the egg and Harry had to find it in a field with a dragon. Suddenly, Cassy wished she had thought of that earlier. Her eyes roamed the ground, noting all the little places they could have placed it.
'...from a nesting dragon,' finished Crouch.
The crowd let of sharp hisses and a slow build of applause began again, rippling slowly around the stand as a sudden realisation set in. The look of comprehension was clearly surfacing on a few students faces, a look that said that they did not find this so much fun any more.
Silence fell instantly when four figures appeared within the trees. They heaved giant chains with one hand, their wands pointed skywards with the other. A man hurried forward with a cart bursting with massive white eggs. He stumbled as a tremendous roar burst through the forest and the chains the wizards held were thrown back and forth with great strength. Slowly, a slate-grey head emerged. The dragon had a short, flat face and stubby, muscular limbs. A thick, short horn erupted from the end of its nose.
'The champions have picked their dragons from a bag and they will be handled by trained specialists in and out of the ring. The champions can lose points for injury, for time, and for damages to the real eggs. At the end of each match, the points will be announced and the dragon removed,' said Crouch. He waited for a moment, his bulging eyes set on the men below as they clamped the dragon into place and slipped off the mussel. 'So, without further ado, let the first match begin with Hogwart's champion, Cedric Diggory!'
A whistle echoed and the cheers began once again. From between the trees emerged a hesitant Diggory. He lingered around the periphery, even as the crowd chanted his name and Ludo Bagman, who had appeared not moments later in the top box, urged him to get a move on and impress them all.
The dragon flicked her head, grumbling lowly at the hundreds of people surrounding her nest, but seemingly not having seem Diggory at all. Her tail was curled around the pile of eggs. A golden one sat high on top. Her head snapped to the side. Diggory had moved forward.
'Ooh,' cooed Bagman, leaning over his desk with his wand at his throat. 'What will – oh! Narrow miss there, very narrow, well avoided.'
Diggory had edged another step and the dragon had shot a rapid stream of flames straight towards him. He had ducked just in time and the tree behind him was quickly set ablaze. Hurrying onwards as the dragon roared, Diggory flung himself into a rocky pit far beyond the view of the crowd.
'He's only had a day. What do you think his plan is?' asked Neville loudly.
No one was paying the slightest bit of attention to their conversation between craning for a better view.
'Not a very good one if he doesn't hurry up,' said Ginny.
'He is trying to get a better position,' interjected Cassy.
Diggory's head popped up briefly to see the dragon's great black eyes still trained on him before ducking low again.
'Does he even have a plan?'asked Ginny.
'He doesn't have a clue!' roared George over the crowd.
'So much for nerve!' cackled Fred.
Suddenly, there was movement from the other side of the stadium. There was shifting and scraping, the dull grey of the rock quickly turning a bright golden yellow. Four sticks grew from the beneath it, thickening into gangly legs as another sprouted from the end, quickly sprouting thin fur as it wagged madly side to side. Floppy ears hung either side of the head beside large, brown eyes.
'Transfiguration,' said Hermione quickly. 'Advanced transfiguration at that, the dog is even excited.'
The dog barked and the dragon slowly turned. The Labrador wiggled, scraping its paws on the rocks in a playful invitation. It barked again and took a step forward. The great heaving feet of the dragon shifted, turning her back on the pit Diggory occupied; that was all he needed. Diggory was out of it before the dragon had even raised one claw against the dog. He ran behind her, leaping over and clearing her thick tail in one fluid motion.
'He's taking risks! Look at that!' cried Bagman.
Diggory was only feet away. The crowd screamed louder, all ready clapping for his sure to be victory – then the dragon turned. A huge jet of fire erupted from her mouth, scorching the rock that stood between them, the Labrador all ready forgotten. Diggory skidded, lowering himself into another dip, but he kept running. The right side of his face was visibly bright pink even to the spectators, the skin having been singed clean off by the shire heat of the blast.
'Clever move – pity it didn't work! Careful now...'
Diggory threw himself at the nest as the dragon reared round again. His hands grasped the egg tightly before he ducked out of sight once more.
The applause was deafening. Everyone, including the students from the opposing schools, rose to their feet in congratulations. Diggory waved before he was wrangled into a hug by Professor Sprout, who had bustled onto the grounds at the same time as the dragon handlers.
'That dragon hardly looked at the dog,' said Neville with a frown.
'Harry will be fine. Maginpie are not as trivial as a Labrador,' said Cassy sternly. There was an odd edge to her tone, as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Neville. She knew, however, that Harry would be fine. He was always fine and if the trick had worked well enough for Diggory, then it would for Harry too. No one she knew had more nerve and quicker feet than Harry.
'Are you sure?' asked Neville. 'They're just birds after all...'
'Positive,' said Cassy.
'Now for the scores,' came Crouches voice.
Madam Maxine held her wand in the air, shooting a glittery seven into the air. Crouch then released a silver figure on eight, followed by an eight from Dumbledore, and a eight from Bagman. Karkaroff also gave him a lowly six; a ripple of hisses echoed through the crowd.
Soon the dragon was removed and the next one brought on in her place. A smaller, more pointed dragon than the last, she was bright green like the rolling country hills with large yellow eyes, the colour of which matched the inner scales of her little wings.
The whistle sounded again and the cheerful announcement of Fluer Delecour's arrival sent a burst of song through the Beaubatons students that Cassy supposed was their school anthem. Delecour stepped out steadily, catching the attention of the dragon instantly. Bagman hissed as he raised her hands and began slowly waving her wand side to side. The dragon continued to stare, slowly dipping his head down as she muttered something to herself.
'What kind of charm is that?' wondered Cassy out loud. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration, but she could not read Delacour's lips from the distance.
'A very powerful one to put a dragon under!' said Hermione, squinting in much the same fashion.
The dragon's head dropped lower as time ticked on.
'Careful...careful now...' said Bagman.
The dragon's head touched the ground softly and the crowd burst into life. Yet, the moment her chin hit the cold stone, her head was thrown back and forth in a desperate attempt to shake the charm off. Fire shot from between the barely parted teeth. Delacour shrieked as it caught the end of her skirt and she dosed herself quickly with water from her wand. She raised it quickly again, ready to attack the dragon, but she no longer moved, her eyes half-closed and glassy.
Delacour sprinted past the dragon and collected the egg before the beast could wake. Her time was longer than Diggory's, according to the large clock about the judges' table, but she was not burnt at all, save for the hem of her clothing. It was because of that, that she received equal marks, a respectable thirty-seven, with a point more from her headmistress and one less from Crouch.
Victor Krum was to be next and Harry last.
'Please be the Horntail,' muttered Hermione and Cassy echoed the wish in her head.
Through the trees a terrible shriek sounded, high and piercing. The trainers came first, heaving the fighting dragon along too easily. Cassy screwed her eyes shut and sighed heavily. She rubbed at her temples as her friends all groaned loudly.
'Typical Harry,' said Luna.
'Just once... just once would have been nice,' muttered Cassy at the sight of the spindly red dragon.
The moment that the whistle sounded for the next match everyone was on the edge of their seats. Many of the girls were rooting for him regardless of their schools and the boys had all ready begun speculating on points as tactics. Only, Krum was no where to be seen. He had not emerged from the trees and not even the faintest trace of him had been seen.
The stadium fell into silence.
A burst of bright yellow light emitted from beneath the brush and the Chinese Fireball howled, throwing her head high as her great claws ripped at the stone beneath her. Her thin red legs reared and kicked as she frantically rubbed at her eyes the best she could as they clotted over with thick, yellow goo.
'There he is!' roared Bagman and everyone's heads cracked around from the dragon to Krum, who was sprinting straight across the centre of the field. 'Incredible nerve!'
The dragon shrieked again, retreating back and onto her own eggs. The crowd let out a low 'ooh' as half the nest shattered. Krum kept running before skidding to collect his own egg in record time.
'Brilliant,' cried Bagman. 'Absolutely fantastic.'
'That was amazing,' said Hermione. 'It was simple and clever, although I don't think he should have damaged the eggs...'
'He will get points for time though,' reminded Ginny, nodding over to where the judges were once again beginning to raise their wands. True to what she had said, any points Krum would have lost for damaging the eggs was clearly counteracted by his brilliant timing. He had grabbed a firm lead of forty-two points.
The dragon was cleared from the field with a great deal of effort. Ginny was frowning at the forest and although she had seen the Hungarian Horntail too, Luna looked far more confident. They had a plan, Luna had said. She was certain that Harry would be able to deal with it, if he had really done everything they had said he had. That sentiment did not stop Cassy scowling at Harry's own poor luck.
The shrieks of the dragon could be heard long before they saw it. It was dragged into the ring by more handlers than the rest and chained down twice as securely. The handlers skirted around her back, keeping well away from the long arching spikes that protruded from her black tail. The mother dragon was covered in bronze spikes, even forming small ridges around her brow-bone. Her eyes were large and yellow, her teeth curling below her chin.
'Oh, Harry, really?' muttered Hermione, her face in her hands.
Neville was in a similar position, but his fingers were parted just enough that he could still peak through.
'C'mon, Harry,' roared Fred and George. They were drowned out by a torrent of cheers that burst forth as the schools truly took in the dragon that the youngest champion was to face. There was no booing, or hissing like Cassy had expected their to be. Instead, everyone, with the exception of the Slytherins, was clapping thunderously in support for Harry. Thoughts of rivalries were gone; the threat of the tournament had suddenly become very real.
The whistle blew.
Just stick to the plan, thought Cassy as she spotted the distant blotch of red within the forest.
The Hungarian Horntail trashed her tail, ripping the rock clean from the ground.
'Stay hidden,' breathed Cassy as Harry took another step closer.
There was a loud caw that could only just be heard over the chanting audience. The dragon's head snapped to the side. She barred her teeth and Cassy followed her gaze straight towards the black form on the back of the stadium seats. It was about the size of a large cat, its head twisting to and fro, as if calling for another as if cawed again. Another fluttered down not ten feet from it. The dragon growled.
Harry darted out from the trees and skidded down where Diggory had before. He waved his wand once more and one of the rocks behind the dragon bubbled and shifted much like it had done to form the Labrador. The tactics were remarkably similar, but if Harry could do this without being injured he would undoubtedly score well.
'What is Potter doing?' called Bagman. 'I can't quite tell what the dragon is looking at.'
Bagman was not the only one to have noticed the dragons distraction. Many heads had turned to stare at the large birds in the stands above them. The applause faded slightly as frantic whispers broke out in their place.
'What are those things...?' asked Bagman slowly.
The third maginpie cawed. The dragon lunged for it. In less than a second, a stream of fire shot from her mouth, obliterating the bird and scorching the ground. A dusty blackness spread far across the terrain, the rock glowing brightly beneath it.
Everyone jumped.
There was yet another call though. The bird had been replaced by three more that were fluttering near the entrance of the stadium, pecking at the ground and lowly thrilling to one another. More joined them, getting closer and closer with each new wave that descended.
The dragon's tail smashed sharply on the ground and she began to strain against her chains. The slits of her yellow eyes narrowed further, teeth barring and tail rising, ready to strike at any moment. Her eyes were darting furiously. Then, exactly as planned, a great white light burst forth, covering the entire stadium. Arms flailed in attempts of students to protect their eyes. The dragon screeched and in the silence of the crowed the collective calls of the maginpie rang deafeningly. Even through blurry eyes, the rapid movements of black sweeping figures could be seen. The Horntail rose off her front legs, smashing down on the ground as great streams of fire burst forth. However, before anyone could gage what exactly had happened, the voice of Crouch echoed through the stands.
'The final egg has been collected. That brings us to a close of the first task of the Triwizard tournament!'
With a second delay, another wave of applause broke through. The screaming was overwhelming, although Cassy had a suspicion that half of them had no idea what had just happened. Rubbing her blurry eyes, Cassy rose from her seat and began pushing her way through the crowd and down the wooden steps towards the champion's tent before Harry had even left the grounds.
'Cassy, wait up,' called Neville. He thundered down the steps behind her, almost slipping. Everyone else ran to catch up with them as they strode straight around the edge of the stadium and burst into the small medical tent with absolutely no thought of announcing themselves.
'Harry!' called Cassy, immediately spotting him pacing the length of the room. She flung her arms around his neck tightly and he did the same, grinning ear to ear. 'Still alive then?'
'Just about,' he said.
'Just about? Harry you were brilliant! You didn't even get injured,' shrieked Hermione, moving in for her own smothering hug.
'It was excellent, everyone was so confused,' said Neville, patting him on the shoulder.
'It was great. I'm sure you'll get top spot,' praised Ginny.
'The light was very disorientating though,' said Luna lightly.
'I know. The dragon was too edgy though, I didn't want it to stop me and I just needed something to move its tail away from the eggs. I didn't fancy climbing over it at the end,' said Harry with a shrug.
'Diggory did something similar, but with a dog. It didn't really work,' began Neville and everyone started to chip in to recall what the other champions had done. They huddled outside of the tent talking, waiting for the judges' scores to appear.
Madam Maxine awarded him a nine and a nine from Crouch too. Professor Dumbledore was also a nine and Ludo Bagman gave him a clear ten.
'Brilliant!' cheered Ginny and the entire crowd cheered.
Karkaroff's face twisted darkly and from his wand emerged a pitiful five.
'What a cheat!' seethed Neville.
'What can he even take points off you for?' argued Hermione.
Harry, on the other hand, appeared not to care in the slightest. He was still smiling and kicking his feet against the floor as if it took a great deal of effort to remain still. With the adrenalin was still pumping through his veins, the points really seemed not to matter.
'The only way he can justify that is for originality, surely,' mumbled Cassy. 'Even then though, there is sure to be some overlap of techniques... he has only done this to ensure that you do not have too much of an advantage over Krum.'
'Honestly, I'm just pleased to be alive,' said Harry with another shrug and a smile.
'Forty-three still means you are in the lead though,' added Luna.
Everyone congratulated him again and whined about the scoring for a short time more before Ginny's brother, Charlie Weasley, hurried over to the with a massive grin. He informed them that Harry was to meet with the champions for a moment about the next task after patting him firmly on the back and insisting that he had to write to Mrs Weasley to tell her Harry was still very much alive and well. They waved good-bye to Harry and waited outside the tent as the students and staff began to make their way back up to the castle with one name on their lips.
This is a horrible chapter. I can't write action, I am more of a conversation and character motivated writer. The match changed because I struggled to justify how if there were six of them working on an idea that they would still need to go on Moody's plan. He only mentioned it because Harry clearly had no idea. I won't be attempting this again, at least. I have plans for the other two that get around that, seeing as they are utterly from Harry's point of view and you can't exactly watch them easily.
I thought of magpies after there were some out of my window and it made me think of their tendency to take shiny objects to get better mates. Dragons are supposed to collect jewels, so I imagined that if there were Dragons, magpies would not be far away. Then, I just made them larger and magical. I hope this wasn't too lame!
Thanks!
