Unstoppable!
Chapter Twelve
"Harry Potter!" The Headmaster's voice rang throughout the Great Hall. The silence following was total. All eyes were on the slip of paper that had just come out of the flaming goblet.
"No!" Harry called.
"Harry your name has come from the Goblet. Please join the other champions."
"NO!" Harry said louder. "I did not put my name in. How could it come out?"
"Of course you cheated, Potter," Snape said loudly. "Surely you've disrupted this important ceremony enough, garnered attention enough, even for you. Now obey the Headmaster."
"I didn't enter this contest. I won't be join the champions. I will not compete." Harry started for the doors to the Great Hall.
"Harry!" Dumbledore called.
Snape cut him off by drawing his wand and sent a "Levicorpus!" at Harry. The young wizard was already moving so the spell had no effect. As he left the Hall, Harry heard several professors yelling at Snape.
Harry rushed to the owlery. He needed to contact Sirius. If the marauder wanted to be his guardian, then this was the sort of thing from which he needed to guard Harry. His message sent, the young wizard made his way to the library. He need to find out what he could about the Goblet and how it chose the names it did. Someone put my name in there. I don't know why, but given my luck it can't be good.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice drew the young wizard's attention from the book he had found on magical contracts. The first book on the Goblet mentioned that being selected formed a binding magical contract for the contestant to compete.
"Apparently the earliest forms of the Tournament were not necessarily voluntary," Harry said without looking up. "They were more like gladiatorial combats where problem students could be made to compete as a punishment. The Goblet has magic that can compel the champions to compete or lose their magic, maybe even their lives."
"I know. I was really glad to see that Professor Dumbledore had put an age line around the cup. It was supposed to stop this sort of thing from happening."
He gestured to the book he was reading. "I'm trying to see if there is a way out of the contract."
"And?"
"I think I'm stuck."
"Oh Harry…"
"Yeah."
It was not long before Madame Pinch found the two reading quietly. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to speak with you in his office."
The discussion went pretty much as Harry expected. He would have to compete. Dumbledore said he believed Harry had not entered his name or asked anyone else to do it. He suggested that someone was trying to do Harry harm by entering him into the contest. Harry also found out the First Task would be in just a few weeks and the champions were not to be given any information on the task. When he got back to the dorm, Harry found that Ron was angry at him for figuring a way to get into the contest without telling his best friend.
"I didn't do it, Ron. I didn't put my name in and I don't want to compete."
"Yeh, right."
So Harry spent the next weeks fighting the accusations that he had cheated his way into the contest, arguing with his supposed best friend, and trying to figure out what sort of task he was likely to face with his real best friend.
"It's probably stupid or overconfident of me, but I'm not really worried about getting hurt in the task, whatever it is. I means so far the only things that have been able to hurt be at all are Unforgivables, a giant basilisk, and a super stronger than me. I doubt we will be asked to face those because the others champions would likely fail against them as well." Harry and Hermione were working in their normal 'secret' classroom. Hermione had managed to get Madam Pince to allow her to take out what few books there were on the history of the Tournament, with the understanding that if Cedric needed them the books were to be returned.
"I don't know. You can't assume that the tasks will be calibrated to make sure that the champions can succeed or even survive. The Tournament was discontinued because of the high fatality rate among the contestants."
"Are you seeing any pattern in the types of tasks in the past?"
"Not really. There have been duels and direct combat, against magical creatures, other wizards, and the other champions. There have been puzzles and quests, with various dangers to overcome. There have been tests of magical strength, speed, even pure knowledge; always with a dangerous consequence for failure. Pretty much it could be anything."
"Right. Than back to basics and see how far ahead we can get in the Charms, Defense, and Transfiguration books."
"Alright. We can concentrate on various general use spells. How about we start with the Water Jet Spell. You said it would have been useful over the summer."
During the weighting of the wands Harry had the opportunity to meet with Rita Skeeter, who had written some pretty horrible things about him after the World Cup. He refused an interview with her, even when she tried to physically drag him in to a broom cupboard. Her hand caressing his arm left him feeling unclean. The Prophet the next day was another hatchet job. I'm beginning to understand how Spider-man feels. I wonder if she is ay relation to J. Jonah Jameson. Harry thought after reading Skeeter's article.
Harry had been spending some of his off time with Hagrid, helping out with the various large animals and doing grounds keeping in the Forbidden Forest. He had even discovered the big man's rock cakes were pretty tasty if you could actually chew them. Harry was the largest student among the three schools and was still growing quickly. He was up to 6'7" and at 840 lbs. he outweighed his friend by a good bit. He started feeling more comfortable in Hagrid's world. Even Madame Maxine was friendly to the large lad. One night Hagrid showed Harry four dragons that were part of the First Task.
"Wow! They're incredible." Harry gushed. He found the reptilian giants fascinating. Several times over the next week he came back to the clearing under his invisibility cloak. He watched the way they moved, the feeling of barely restrained strength and violence. He wished he could see them flying free as he knew they were meant to be. Hermione was less happy to discover that they would be facing dragons. "So much for the organizers not setting the bar too high."
During his time watching the great beasts, Harry noticed Karkaroff and Maxine both showing the dragons to their champions. He never saw Cedric, or anyone that might pass the word to him. So after lunch a few days before the task, Harry pulled the Hufflepuff champion aside and told him what they would be facing.
Early on the morning of November 24th, Harry got up and went for a walk around the Castle. It was cool and clear. It looked like a good day for the crowd. He continued to consider his strategy. He did not know if they would have to fight the dragons directly or if they were to be an obstacle in some sort of test or quest. He had no desire to hurt the giant creatures. When he watched them interact with Charlie and the other trainers, he could not tell just how intelligent the dragons were. He knew enough of magic to know that he could not judge their intelligence on their form. The Acromantulas, at least Aragog, seemed sentient. On the other hand just because he could talk to snakes did not mean they were people. How much was innate and how much was the temporary effect of magic was hard to say. It was somewhat confusing.
What it meant today was that he did not want to hurt the dragons, much less kill them. He was not sure that he would be immune to dragon fire, so he practiced with the Flame Freezing Charm and the Water Jet Spell. He would also make sure to cast the Unbreakable Charm on his robes once he was in the arena. He thought it likely that the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak would hold the dragon, at least temporarily, but he had promised not to use sorcery. He would have to wing it.
Harry, of course, drew the most dangerous of the dragons - the Hungarian Horntail. I'm glad we don't have to kill the dragon for the task. They are only an obstacle to getting the egg. Harry thought as he walked into the arena. He was the last contestant, but had no chance to see how the others had managed their dragons. As he entered the arena he saw it was a large sand field, strewn with rocks and boulders. The dragon was chained to her nest with some unknown amount of leeway in the chains. She was crouched low with her wings half unfurled protectively.
She spotted him as soon as he came through the gate. Her eyes never left him as he took out his wand and started casting Unbreakable Charms on his clothes and cloak. It was not his invisibility cloak. Instead it was just a plain hooded leather cloak that would take spells easily. Looking around he knew he had three basic choices. He could try to distract the dragon, hoping to take the egg by stealth and trickery. He could try to incapacitate the dragon, allowing him access to the egg while the mother was unable to defend it. Or he could rely on his invulnerability and ignore the dragon, taking the egg despite her defense of it. He hoped that negotiation might be a forth option so he cast a sonorous on himself and spoke directly to the dragon. "Can you understand me Great Mother?"
The dragon roared in response to the amplified voice.
"I mean you and your eggs no harm. You have a false egg in your nest."
Again there was no sign of comprehension.
"Oh well," Harry sighed, "It was worth a try." He decided to try to distract the dragon with a giant dancing pineapple. Transfiguring a stone into the fruit, charming it to grow, and levitating it just has he had during his First Year end of term exams, Harry got a reaction from the audience. But not from the dragon.
Next Harry tried levitating a large rock, big enough for him to hide behind. His magical strength was just enough to counter the weight of the small boulder, allowing him to use his hands to move it about. Realistically he could have juggled the stone without his magic, but he was trying to not use his powers. He used it as a shield as he darted from one boulder to another closing on the nest. The dragon spouted a gout of flame that licked at the stone shield. Harry could feel the heat, but not bad enough to stop him.
The young wizard was able to get close enough to be just out of reach of the dragon. He started casting Stunning Spells at the great beast's head. For ten minutes Harry cast stunner after stunner. No single spell was particularly powerful, but he was able to keep casting one every three to five seconds for ten minutes. He was aiming for her mouth when it opened or for her eyes when it was not, trying to bypass her armored scales. She returned fire, though at a much slower rate. Harry's stone shield was glowing bright hot by the end of five minutes. He was no longer touching the boulder, or even levitating it. He periodically hit it with an Unbreakable Charm. Eventually the dragon seemed to run out of flame and finally to run out of energy. She settled onto her nest, covering the eggs completely.
"Well that's just my luck." Harry muttered. Not realizing that he was still amplified, he was shocked when the audience laughed. The crowd had heard every spell he had cast. Shrugging, Harry tried levitating the dragon. It did not work. Finally, he used the Gouging Spell to dig out the ground beneath the nest. Periodically he would re-stun the dragon to keep her asleep. Eventually he was able to reach the golden egg. Twenty-five minutes after he had entered the arena, he left. And I didn't hurt the dragon or the eggs.
The judges were kind to him, but did not think his use of low level spells was worth more than fourth place. Ron found him after the event and apologized for being a prat. "Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!" So Harry forgave him and Hermione cried at them both for being stupid boys. Sirius was there to make sure Harry was alright and to congratulate him on his performance.
"Nothing that seemed too out of place," Sirius reported. "I think your repeated use of the Unbreakable Charm may keep too many people from wondering how you came out unscathed. The only thing I've been hearing people surprised about is your stamina. And that's usually a good thing."
December started out cold, windy, and wet. It made Care of Magical Creature class particularly unpleasant for most of the students. Harry, on the other hand, did not notice the weather and was beginning to share Hagrid's affection for the Blast-Ended Skrewts. December also brought the announcement of the Yule Ball and the expectation that Harry would open the Ball by dancing with his date. Both those words, dancing and date, struck Harry with significantly more consternation that finding out he would be facing a dragon had.
It was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold. Harry had never quite noticed them before. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear to the Ball. Harry realized that each had the amazing super power that could easily defeat his supposed invulnerability. They could shoot him down in flames should he dare ask any one out, and he would crumple up and die from embarrassment.
"Listen, you're not going to have any trouble. You're a champion. You've just beaten a Hungarian Horntail. I bet they'll be queuing up to go with you." In tribute to their recently repaired friendship, Ron had kept the bitterness in his voice to a bare minimum. Moreover, to Harry's amazement, he turned out to be quite right.
A curly-haired third-year Hufflepuff girl to whom Harry had never spoken to in his life asked him to go to the ball with her the very next day. Harry was so taken aback he said no before he had even stopped to consider the matter. The girl walked off looking rather hurt. Harry realized that shooting-down-in-flames was a power shared by both boys and girls. And like Spider-man had said "With great power comes great responsibility." Harry realized he felt bad he had hurt the girl. Later he found out her name was Portia Stebbins. He promised to do something nice for her.
Sirius suggested by owl mail that Harry decide whether he wanted to ask Hermione or not first. If not, then he had three schools of possible choices. But if he did, he should do it before someone else realized she was a cute, smart girl and asked her first. Harry realized there were a lot of cute girls but Hermione was both is best friends and the one that knew him and understood him the best.
"Hermione," Harry said as they were finishing breakfast that Saturday. "Can I talk with you for a minute?"
"Sure, let me get my books packed. Do you want to go to the training room?"
"Are you up for a walk outside?"
"Let me get my jacket." Harry transfigured a serviette into a thick, wooly cloak and added Warming and Impervious Charms to make it weather proof. It was cold out, but sunny. She smiled and muttered "Thinking like a wizard."
"Hermione, would you go to the Ball with me?" They were walking along a path in the snow leading to the greenhouses. The young witch stopped and looked up into her friends green eyes.
"Are you asking as a friend or …"
"I think I am asking as a friend. I don't know if I am ready for anything more yet."
"So why do you want to take me to the Ball?"
"Because you are my best friend. And you're cute and smart and brave and a very special girl. That last part's becoming more and more important. I would rather spend the time with you than with anyone else."
"What about Ron?"
"Have you seen his robes?"
She actually giggled. "No, I mean how will Ron take this?"
"I don't know. I don't want to cater to his jealousy in everything I do. I would say we should all go as friends, but Professor McGonagall tells me I have to have a date for dinner and dancing. I don't think that can be Ron. Even if it could be, I'd rather it be you."
"Okay. I'd be happy to go with you." Hermione hugged Harry's arm. After that, when other girls asked Harry he was able to truthfully say he already had a date. He was even able to fix Ron up with Portia.
Harry and Hermione had fun at the Ball. Hermione's dress let everyone know she was not only a girl, she was a pretty one. Hermione enjoyed dinner at the head table with the other champions, their dates, and the judges. She was able to talk education and politics with the professionals while Harry talked Quidditch with the five players (including Davies and Bagman). He found he had to use his occlumency when around Fleur for so long. Once the dancing started Harry proved to be less than nimble. He was particularly concerned with stepping on or bumping into anyone. With his weight he could crush bones.
"Hermione, would you mind if I sat out the next few dances? It's not that I don't want to dance with you. I'm just really worried about hurting you, or someone else. You're welcome to dance with other guys if you want to."
"I'll sit out with you. Shall we go talk with Ron?" The rest of the evening they talked with Ron and their other friends. Neville had come with Ginny. Dean and Seamus had come with Parvati and Lavender. Portia and Ginny brought over a little blonde girl named Luna who had come with a Durmstrang student named Dag. The three third years spent time talking about their classes and classmates. All in all it was a pleasant evening.
The next morning most of the Hogwarts students boarded the Express to go home for the remainder of the holiday. Hermione was going to her parents and Harry to stay with Sirius in London.
