Chapter Twelve: The First Task

Harry awoke in the Hospital Wing, his body crying out in pain. His vision was blurred and he couldn't feel his arm. "Anybody here?" He called out weakly, wincing in pain once he did.

Lily moved towards him quickly. "Oh thank Merlin you're awake." She whispered softly, placing his glasses on. "How could you be so reckless?" She asked, her voice cracking. "You can't mix spells together when you're using the same rune array." She gently stroked his forehead, hearing him wince. "Madam Pomfrey is working on your burns. It'll take her a couple of days to heal you completely. Your nerves will take a week."

Harry sighed. "Great." He muttered sarcastically. "A week in the care of Nurse Ratchet."

Lily repressed a giggle from her lips, helping him sip some water. "Well it would be two, but the First Task is in eighteen days." She pointed out.

Harry groaned. "Great. So I can make a complete arse of myself in front of three schools." He sighed. "Where's Maria?" He asked.

"Beside you." She whispered, helping him sit up.

He noticed that the burns on his arm were uncovered, though by the look of them infection was possible if the blisters were torn open. He stared at the baby, who was now in a regular cot. "I can't even hold her..."

"Well let that be your punishment for testing the gauntlet without help from someone magical!" Lily said sternly.

Harry watched her carefully. She was upset. Was this the feeling of parental concern that he had always yearned for? Sure, the anger was evident in her eyes, but he could see the underlying sadness and worry. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tested it without you there. I was impulsive and it caused me and you a lot of pain." He said softly.

Lily felt her heart tighten. He was letting her in again. She kissed his forehead gently, propping a pillow behind him. "You've third degree burns on your left arm. Second degree burns to your torso and slight scorching on your face." She whispered. "Worst case scenario, you may have a little burn scar on your chest."

He nodded, closing his eyes. "Will I have full use of my hand?" He asked. It felt weird not being able to move or feel his arm.

Lily smiled. "Of course. Jarvis told me that he's made you a treacle tart." She moved his fringe from his eyes.

Harry grinned. "That sounds heavily right about now." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Is the Gauntlet ok?" He asked curiously.

"The crystals are fine, but the metal melted slightly." Tony said from his other side. He had been keeping quiet. "I had J.A.R.V.I.S prepare another Gauntlet for you to wire and set up." Unlike other times Harry had been around Tony, he could hear some worry in his voice.

"Thanks." He said sincerely. "But I'm going to need more than just a left arm. I'm fabricating an entire suit. Unlike the Iron Man suits, mine are just going to be armoured. No repulsors. No unibeam." He took another small sip of water. "And a cooler faceplate."

Tony chuckled weakly. "Any chance I can give you a hand?"

Harry stared at him for a moment. "Sure. If this experience has thought me anything, I need serious help." He chuckled weakly. "I've some knowledge of technology, but I was arrogant in thinking I could do it alone."

Lily fixed the blanket over him gently. "You're a teenager. Arrogance and a swelled head are in the job description." She said affectionately. She kissed his forehead, gently stroking his cheek.

Harry closed his eyes to the world, choosing instead to just laugh. "I suppose the Potter genes are just starting to show now." He chuckled softly, feeling his eyes gently close. "I'm sorry for being so difficult..." He mumbled softly. "I love you..." He said lowly, falling into a healing sleep.

Lily smiled widely. "I love you too, sweetheart. With all my heart."

Tony kissed her forehead. "I'll get you a nice cup of decaf and some donuts."

Lily nodded, kissing him softly. "Sounds heavenly." She sat back down, playing with Maria's fingers.

-HS-

The week in the Hospital Wing had been pure hell for the young wizard, between the hours of work to keep his arm working and trying to perfect the new suit design he had been a total wreck. He sipped his coffee, a drink he found himself becoming quite dependent on in order to work. "Ok then, rise and shine, J.A.R.V.I.S. I need the rules for the first task."

"The only rule Mrs Stark informed me of, is that you're not allowed anything except your uniform and wand. You will have an unlimited amount of time to complete the task."

Harry frowned. "What is the actual task?"

"Unknown. Something to, and I quote 'Test your courage', sir."

He finished his coffee, turning to the computer terminal. "ETA for those parts?"

"Four hours, fifteen minutes."

Harry nodded, sitting down. "Perfect. How's Mum and Maria?"

"Mrs Stark's blood and iron levels are adequate for a woman who recently gave birth. Miss Stark's lungs are working at max efficiency. You should really spend time with them."

"First Task is less than two weeks away, J. I need to work on the suit."

"You're not allowed the suit in the Task, sir. I'd recommend a proper strategy in order to tackle this problem."

Harry smirked. "Did you digitized the library?"

"Two and a half weeks ago, sir."

Harry flicked his tongue between his left and right lower molars. "Bring up the Accio spell. Standard Book of Spells, Year Four."

"Accio. Spell used to summon objects from a great distance. Maximum known range: 2.6km."

Harry knew that the stadium was close to the school. "Measure the distance from here to the stadium."

"1.89km."

Harry frowned. "How much practice would it take for me to achieve a distance of 2km?"

"Unknown sir. Like all magic, it comes down to the will and strength of the caster."

Harry poured himself a glass of water, thinking for a few minutes. "Begin the fabrication of all possible pieces. Once the package arrives, finish it. I'm going to be in the training room."

"Of course, sir. Shall I inform your mother that you're not going to make it for dinner?"

Harry frowned. He couldn't miss time with his friends and family again. "No. Tell her I'll meet everyone in the dining room for six..." He said softly. "J.A.R.V.I.S, can I ask you something?"

"I believe you just did."

"What are the chances of me living through this tournament?" He asked softly.

"Judging by the last five times this tournament has been held, I estimate the chances of an under educated teenager to be...less than 0.1%."

Harry nodded. "You forgot to factor in one thing, J."

"And that is?"

"My ability to be one lucky bastard." He walked out to the training room, fixing his hair back as best he could.

He had programmed the room with the help of Sirius and Tony. The basic idea of the room was to improve Harry's overall stamina and ability to dodge anything that came his way. He tapped the starting panel, which allowed him to choose from three different scenarios.

The first scenario was one Sirius had pitched to Tony. It was based off of the Aurors training sessions created by Alastor. It would create ten robotic Death Eaters, all of whom would attack in coordinated patterns and waves. The idea of the session was to help the student learn about attack patterns and strategy.

The second scenario was created by Mr Jarvis. It was based on old British Army training techniques from World War II and some extra work exercises from the S.S.R that an old friend of his had taught him in the early fifties. The purpose of this exercise was to train both mind and body to function perfectly on the battlefield. It was a combination of exercising and basic firearm training, as well as espionage and infiltration training.

The final scenario was one Harry had designed himself. It was simply called 'Future' and was based on what Harry knew would one day happen. It was designed to emulate the personality of Voldemort. He didn't know why he created it, but it allowed him to see inside the mind of his enemy.

He activated the first scenario, instantly dodging the first three spells. He ducked his head as a paintball flew past him. It was Sirius's dumb idea to have the robots fire off paintballs to make it more realistic. He swerved past two more paintballs, pointing his wand at the barrel. "Reducto!" He shouted, sliding away from the debris.

He continued training for as long as he could, only stopping once J.A.R.V.I.S announced it was time for him to get ready for dinner.

-HS-

Lily smiled as the last plate was placed on the table. It was Mr Jarvis's idea for them to use the specialised dining room that Tony had set up thanks to the Quinjet. She was impressed by the prototype ship. Its ability to function as a temporary base of operations would work perfectly for S.H.I.E.L.D perfectly.

Hermione and Ron were discussing the classes they had taken with Remus and Sirius.

She wasn't happy that Harry was skipping the lessons, though she softened up on him once she saw that Ron and Hermione would fill him in during the nights.

She watched her son walk in, trying not to mention the fact that he was late. "You hungry, sweetheart?"

Harry nodded. "Starving." He sat across from Hermione, smiling at her.

Lily sat beside Tony. "Time to eat then." Once Jarvis was seated they all began to dig in to the butler's delicious Shepherd's Pie and mushy peas. "Harry, how's your training going?"

Harry played with some mashed potatoes. "It's ok. I'm still working on my plan for the First Task, but since it's a mystery...I don't know what to plan for."

Ron stared at him. "It's Dragons..." He said softly. "I received a letter from my brother Charlie today. He said he was going to be at Hogwarts for a couple of weeks and wanted to catch up with us." He played with his hands. "Charlie's a Dragologist, he wouldn't be here unless they were bringing Dragons." He surmised.

Harry's heart started to clench in his chest as Ron spoke. Dragons. The idea of living through the tournament really was low. "They're insane...I'm fourteen..." He said softly.

Everyone ate in silence after the revelation, leaving only Harry and Lily once they were finished. "You're not going to die." She whispered, wrapping her arm around him. While their relationship had strengthened in a sense, she was always worried when he began to sink into himself.

Harry chuckled weakly. "Usually it's the end of the year when I have to fight some ridiculous creature, or Voldemort...why can't I just have a normal year?"

Lily smiled weakly. "When your dad joined the Aurors, he found out that he was being sent on a mission on what was going to be our first Christmas together as a married couple." She said softly. "So he decides to fake being sick. He and Sirius spend the two weeks before Christmas working on this potion that would make it look like they had Dragonpox." She giggled softly at the memory. "You are your father's son. I know that you'll be able to overcome this." She kissed his forehead.

Harry nodded, an idea quickly coming to the front of his mind. "Dragons..." He whispered softly. "J.A.R.V.I.S, I need every bit of information available on dragons placed on my personal tablet."

"Of course sir. I'll transfer all data now."

Lily smiled. "You and J.A.R.V.I.S seem to be getting along." She chuckled.

Harry agreed with the statement. J.A.R.V.I.S had been a great help to his work. He never really saw J.A.R.V.I.S as a program though, he was just another ally. "Don't tell Mr Jarvis that, I'll most likely be murdered with a lead pipe in the library."

Lily laughed softly. "No more cheesy 80s movies before bed."

-HS-

Before Harry knew what was happening, the day of the First Task was upon him. He sat in the Hogwarts Great Hall with the other schools, messing with his food. His heart was somewhere in his throat from the worry. He had worked on three plans to complete the Task.

He stood once the clock chimed, making his way towards the tent. He stood inside, sitting on one of the beds. Fleur, Viktor and Cedric all knew about the Dragons, he had sent private word to them as a sign of friendship. The whole point of the tournament was supposed to be cooperation and unity.

He nodded his head to the others, keeping his plans in the front of his mind. "Chances of the first plan working: 100-1. Chances of the second plan working: 1,000-1." He thought to himself. The third plan was a real last ditch effort.

Ludo Bagman walked over to them, explaining how the selection of Dragons would take place. Fleur went first, followed by Viktor and then Cedric. Harry picked out the final small model, a vicious looking Hungarian Horntail. His heart stopped in his chest as he finally allowed it to sink in...he had to fight a Dragon.

He sat there, drowning out the noise of the other champions. He rested his head against the headboard, hearing steps. "Skeeter. You attempt to take a picture and the Prophet will need a philosopher's stone to keep you alive." He warned her, opening his eyes. He had missed the weighing of the wands thanks to the hospitalization.

Rita frowned at the boy in front of her. How dare he talk to her like that. "Now, now Harry. I just wanted to get a few words on how it feels to have your mother back."

Harry's wand released from its holster, making its way to Rita's neck. "I'll say this one more time." He said simply. "Leave." He warned her. "I'm not going to let a parasite like you trample over my mother's reputation. You're nothing more than a dung beetle, Skeeter."

Rita heard someone come from behind her. "Help."

Harry nodded. "Get her out of here, Romanoff. And explain how bad it would be for her to mention this." He said to Natasha.

Natasha smirked a little at the look on the woman's face. "What about the photographer?"

Harry shrugged. "Whatever you thinks necessary. Just don't get blood on the carpet this time."

He found it hard to keep a straight face. His mother had told him that Rita was a parasitic reporter who liked to rip people's reputations to shreds for the hell of it. He had practiced how to scare her effectively.

Rita felt her blood turn to ice as the woman grabbed her arm. "You can't do this!" She whimpered.

Natasha chuckled. "Actually, he can. You know yourself, the law doesn't apply to people like him. A little gold goes a long way, Rita. Sure, the Prophet loses a crappy reporter, but they also gain a new printing press from the Potter Corporation." She explained. "No one's going to look into the disappearance of a hated woman. Hell, a little polyjuice potion and no one's the wiser." She swore she could smell urine coming from the shaking reporter.

Harry stopped himself from laughing, watching her carefully. "How does this sound, Skeeter? I'll hire you as my personal reporter from the Prophet. But, you cannot twist facts to make me seem like an attention seeking brat." He held up an old newspaper article. "Mr Potter, the twelve year old who snuck his way into the tournament had refused to attend the Weighing of the Wands. Sources close to Mr Potter say that he had chosen to play around with muggle technology instead of following his contractual obligation." He read aloud.

Rita audibly gulped as she stared into his eyes. "I was told by fellow Gryffindors."

Harry bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep himself relaxed. "Names."

"Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown...I offered them the opportunity to speak." She whimpered out.

Harry nodded to Romanoff. "You just got hired by me." He said simply. "Do you think you can actually work with a code of ethics?"

Rita nodded as fast as she could, falling to her knees once Romanoff let her go. She stared up at Harry. "What's my base pay?"

Harry sat down, relaxing on the bed. "Fifteen galleons a day plus expenses. You've a way of getting into places you shouldn't. This is your first assignment." He opened his eyes, staring directly into hers. "I want dirt on Lucius Malfoy. My solicitor has had problems with her husband as of late, and I need you to help me."

Rita nodded. "It'll take a couple of months."

Harry held up three fingers. "Weeks. You've three weeks to get as much dirt as you possibly can. Do a good job, and you'll get the exclusive interview with Harry Potter."

Rita ran from the tent once she had the chance. Natasha couldn't help but chuckle a little when they were alone. "Sorry about that. She slipped in when I was reporting to Fury."

Harry shrugged it off. "Shit happens." He said softly, checking the watch. "I'm up next..."

Natasha watched him. He had learnt a lot about politics from his godfather. She of course knew that he was still learning how to keep his adrenaline in check. She threw him an energy drink. "Down this. It'll help."

He did as she said, repressing a belch. "That tasted like crap."

She held her hands in front of her, sighing. "Look, I should apologise for a few weeks ago."

Harry shook his head. "No need. You were following orders. I respect that." He said softly. He heard his name being announced. "Wish me luck..."

Natasha smiled. "Good luck, kid." She watched him leave the tent. "Widow to Fury, he's approaching the arena. Prepare for data uplink."

-HS-

Harry stood in the middle of the arena, watching the large Dragon in front of him. It was easily as large as Tony's jet and looked meaner than Hermione when someone ripped a book in half. He hopped out of the way of a large plume of fire, moving behind a rock for cover.

He held his wand out. It was time to see if his plan would work. "Accio earpiece!" He waved his wand, seeing Tony's link to J.A.R.V.I.S fly to his hand. "J.A.R.V.I.S, send in the suit!" He shouted, dodging another spray of flames.

Hermione and Ron were in the stands, trying not to scream. Lily held Maria close to her, letting silent tears fall into the baby's blanket.

Harry saw Tank fly over with the box. He moved as it landed in front of him. He opened it, activating the suit. He jumped back, showing everyone the suit for the first time.

It was shadow black with small grey stripes on the faceplate and arms. The faceplate was split into three pieces, which locked into a T shape. The gauntlet was in place on his left arm, while his wand fit into the slot of his right hand. The suit also held a small arc reactor within the chest cavity to power the rest of the suit. He was just glad Tony had a spare magic absorbing reactor. "J.A.R.V.I.S, give me a status report."

"The suit is working at 100% efficiency. The gauntlet's locks are in place and the crystals are connected to the interface." J.A.R.V.I.S reported. "The faceplate seems to be locked up a little, so I would suggest avoiding hits to the face."

Harry chuckled weakly. "Duly noted." He held up the gauntlet, taking a deep breath. "Aquamenti!" He blasted water towards the Dragon's mouth, landing a hit in its mouth. He grinned, tapping the third crystal. "Earth Shell!" He slammed his hand into the ground, creating a large shell around the Dragon. He made a dash towards the golden egg, sliding towards it.

A loud noise erupted from the shell, causing a blast of fiery earth to shower around him. The Dragon lunged forward, preparing to lash out at the human.

Harry frowned. "Stop!" He hissed out in Parseltongue.

The Dragon stopped for a moment, roaring louder as it attacked with a renewed anger. How dare this human speak to her in the tongue of snakes?! It was a disgusting insult to the powerful Dragon.

He dodged the mouth, cursing internally. "Parseltongue doesn't work. Nice to know." He panted, standing up. He grinned a little, activating the faceplate's scanners. "J.A.R.V.I.S, give me some info."

"Hungarian Horntail. Size: forty foot. Wingspan: one hundred feet. Fire arc capabilities: fifteen feet diameter by a length of sixty foot. Age: 16. By the size of the nest I reckon this is her first clutch of eggs, sir. I would not advise getting to close to the Dragon, she's in her most violent stage of life right now and her nest would double the anger of the young mother."

Harry chuckled weakly. "Great..." He muttered sarcastically. He glanced at the gauntlet. He hadn't tried the Legion spell yet. Pablo's notes were extremely against the use of Legion. He had no choice though. The Horntail was growling at him dangerously. He took a shaky breath, holding his hand out. He moved his ring finger, calming himself. "Legion!" He shouted. At first nothing happened, until an inhuman scream was heard from the Dragon. He looked on in shock as a small army of shadowy figures attacked the Dragon. It was a sickening sight for everyone in the arena. The creatures resembled Harry, though they were emitting a dangerous aura from within. The truly sickening thing was the creatures seemed to be feasting on the Dragon. He felt the familiar coldness of Dementors from the creatures. They couldn't be a mutated version of the dangerous creatures, could they?

"Sir, the Dragon is suffering from intense bite marks. I fear if we do not stop them, then they will kill the beast."

Harry touched the white crystal, focusing every positive emotion he had in his soul. "Expecto Patronum!" The stag erupted from the gauntlet, destroying the shadowy creatures. He ran to the Dragon, lifting the egg. "Someone get Charlie Weasley!" He shouted.

Charlie ran over to him, checking on the Dragon. "Poor Sal. She's hurt bad." He grabbed Harry by the shoulder. "What the fuck were you doing?!"

Harry frowned. "I...I didn't know that would happen..." He observed the judges.

"Harry Potter has finished with a time of twenty five minutes and fifty seconds." Bagman announced. "He will know make his way to the medical tent."

-HS-

Harry walked in a daze to the medical tent. He stopped at the bed. "J.A.R.V.I.S, deactivate the suit." The suit began to retract until only the shoulder gauntlet remained.

Lily, Tony, Jarvis, Hermione, Ron and Charlie made their way over to him. "Are you ok?" Lily asked softly.

"I want that thing destroyed..." He whispered, refusing to look at the gauntlet. "That poor Dragon."

Charlie crossed his arms, staring at Harry. "She'll be fine." He said softly. "The judges are about to announce your points. You should be out there."

He nodded weakly, making his way outside. Dumbledore held up his wand, casting a spell. A small ribbon appeared in front of him, showing the number six.

Madam Olympe repeated the spell, showing a six.

Karkaroff went next, showing a three.

Lily had made her way to the judge's area, casting her spell. A seven appeared from her wand, showing no favouritism.

"Twenty-two out of forty means that Harry Potter is currently last." Bagman announced.

Harry closed his eyes. He understood the scores, but a small part of him had wished that his mum had been biased and just given him a ten. "Charlie, how much will it cost for Sal's treatment?"

Charlie thought for a moment. "Two hundred galleons, give or take."

Harry nodded. "Send me the bill..." He walked out of the arena, heading to the Quinjet. He threw the gauntlet into the lab. "Lock it up, J. Maximum security."

"As you wish, sir. Shall I contact Director Fury to take it back to S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I want to study it for a while longer."

"Of course. Your mother is trying to gain access. Shall I let her in?"

"Yeah..." Harry nodded.

The door opened after a few seconds. "Harry?" She saw his eyes. There was pain, and a sadness that made her heart melt. "Sweetheart, about your score..."

"You had to be impartial." He shrugged, sitting at his desk. "I shouldn't have used the gauntlet. I should've just used the Firebolt and grabbed the egg..."

Lily frowned. "That would've been suicide." She said sternly. "You did the best you could with the opportunities available to you."

"I'm locking the gauntlet away." Harry said suddenly. "I want Tank to drop it in the deepest part of the ocean."

Lily looked over at the vault. "I think you should keep working at it. You're on the right track, all you have to do now is control the power." She gently stroked his cheek. "I believe in you."

"I nearly killed that Dragon..." Harry whimpered. "I nearly took a life again..."

Lily frowned. Harry had told her about the encounter with Voldemort in his first year and the death of Professor Quirrel. It was obvious that Harry had blamed himself for the man's death. As for the Basilisk, Harry had explained that he felt remorse for ending the creature's life. "Quirrel was killed by Voldemort."

"The Basilisk...Quirrel...I've taken two lives in four years." Harry said calmly. "Both times were life or death, but I wanted to kill Sirius." He admitted, his voice cracking slightly. "I was going to end his life for betraying you and dad. I had it all planned out, mum. The Shrieking Shack was going to be the site of his death. He was going to pay for what he did."

Lily rubbed his back. "That was just anger, Harry. Justified anger."

Harry shook his head. "It was cold...calculated. I knew what I was doing." He said softly. "There's evil in me...Voldemort knows it...I think Professor Dumbledore does as well. I'm not pure of heart. There are days where I just want to..."

Lily kissed his forehead. "Kill people?" She asked casually. "Go to Azkaban and rip out the hearts of the Lestrange Family for hurting your friends? To round up and kill all Death Eaters?" She held him close to her. "That's not evil, Harry. It's passion. And passion isn't evil. Passion is something that could be dangerous to those who can't keep their emotions in check. You're learning control of many things. You're not drinking...you're opening up to us." She smiled. "You my son, could never be as evil as Voldemort. You're too much of a caring soul."

Harry felt tears come to his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered softly, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Besides, no one like you could be evil. An evil person wouldn't have ended Legion."

Harry thought for a second. "Yeah..."

A/N: Ok, so I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I'd like to explai myself if I may.

The month of May is the one month I hate. I lost my grandmother in 04 and my grandfather in 14. My niece also passed away in May...so I really fucking hate it. I've been working on this chapter and reworking it constantly.

The second thing is, well health problems suck. They really, really suck. My blood pressure hasn't been the best lately, which is throwing my concentration off. I'm an obese lad and until I manage my weight better, I'm on pills.

I want to thank you for reading. Now, the first round of answered questions. Remember, you can ask a question in the reviews if you're curious about something.

1. What are the other pairings?

Harry/Hermione, Tony/Lily, are the only ones I'll divulge at the moment. Mostly because it involves characters I haven't introduced yet.

2. Are they (Harry&Ron) going to fight again?

Yep. All friends fight.

3. Wonder if the Avengers will come into the picture?

They will eventually be introduced.

4. Is Harry getting his own suit?"

I put this in here because I want to discuss it in more detail. Harry's not going to be a magical Iron Man copy. My plan is for Harry to be more of an everyman kind of hero. Saying that, he will use a lot of Stark Tech to help him out.

5. You know that works as well as that Gauntlet? A wand!

Yeah, but the Gauntlet has increased security, security systems and an awesome backstory.

6. Harry Potter is Tony Stark's stepFATHER?

Yeah. It's a fucked up situation. And typos can be really funny.

7. Is the Shadow Copy going to be like a Naruto Shadow Clone?

I've never seen Naruto. Pokémon, Fullmetal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell were my go to animes.