The prospect of talking face-to-face with Sirius was all that sustained Harry over the next fortnight, the only bright spot on a horizon that had never looked darker. The shock of finding himself school champion had worn off slightly now, and the fear of what was facing him had started to sink in. The first task was drawing steadily nearer; he felt as though it was crouching ahead of him like some horrific monster, barring his path. He had never suffered nerves like these; they were way beyond anything he had experienced before a Quidditch match, not even his last one against Slytherin, which had decided who would win the Quidditch Cup. Harry was finding it hard to think about the future at all; he felt as though his whole life had been leading up to, and would finish with, the first task… Admittedly, he didn't see how Sirius was going to make him feel any better about having to perform an unknown piece of difficult a dangerous magic in front of hundreds of people, but the mere sigh of a friendly face would be something at the moment. Then he thought of Ella and how she did everything in her powers to protect him and her fierce loyalty to him and his family. It made him smile a bit because for the longest time, it was something he always wanted to feel like he had his own family. He never realized until now that he did have his own family, he was just ignorant about it. Saturday came and all was quiet in the Gryffindor common room. Harry came down the stairs and saw no one, "Sirius? Miss Cullen? Mr. Cullen?" No one answered him. He picked up the newspaper and read what Rita wrote about him, "Harry Potter, age 12, suspect entrant in the Triwizard Tournament. His eyes swimming with the ghosts of his past and choking past tears…" He folded up the paper and threw it in the fireplace. The fire was crinkling and then Ella and Edward showed up, then Sirius' face had shown up in the fire. "Sirius, how…?"

"I don't have much time, so let me get straight to it. Did you or did you not put your name into the Goblet of Fire?" he asked.

"No!" said almost too loudly. Ella rubbed his back gently and he calmed down somewhat.

"I had to ask. Now tell me about this dream of yours. You mentioned Wormtail and Voldemort, but who was the third man in the room?

"I don't know," Harry responded.

"You didn't hear a name?" he asked.

"No. Voldemort was giving him a job to do. Something important."

"And what was that?" Sirius asked.

"He wants... me," he said and then turned to Ella before turning back to the fire, "and Ella. I don't know why, but he was going to use this man to get to us. But, I mean, it was only a dream, right?"

Sirius hesitated, "Yes... it's just a dream. Look, Harry, the Death Eaters at the world cup; your name rising out of the Goblet of Fire; these are not just coincidences! Hogwarts isn't safe anymore."

"What are you saying?

"I'm saying the devils are inside the walls. Igor Karkaroff? He was a Death Eater and no one, no one stops being a Death Eater. Then there's Barty Crouch. Heart of stone. Sent his own son to Azkaban."

"Do you think one of them put my name in the Goblet?" Harry asked.

"I haven't a clue who put your name in the Goblet, Harry, but whoever did is no friend to you. People die in this tournament."

"I'm not ready for this, Sirius!" he told him.

"You don't have a choice," Sirius said.

Harry looked behind him and heard a noise, "Someone's coming."

"Keep your friends close, Harry," Sirius said before leaving. Ella and Edward had already disappeared before Ron came down the stairs.

"Who were you talking to?" Ron asked.

"What? Who says I was talking to anyone?

"I heard voices."

"Maybe you're imagining things. Wouldn't be the first time."

"You're probably just practicing for your next interview, I expect," he said and left the room. Harry went to the fire and saw that Sirius had left already. He sat down for a bit to think about what he learned. He really didn't know what to make of it. The next day he went down to the lake to digest what has happened so far and Neville was there. Harry saw him waving to someone and then realized that Ron wanted Hermione to tell him that Hagrid was looking for him. When he met Hagrid and got the information that he needed, he met with Ella at her place. "I just found out what the first task is."

"What is it?" Ella asked.

"It's dragons. I've got to battle dragons. They have one for the each of us. I need to tell Cedric. I'll tell him tomorrow. I don't know what to do," Harry said as he paced across the floor.

"Harry, Harry, calm down for a minute, please. You're making me dizzy," Ella said.

Harry looked at her, "Sorry." He sat down across from her.

"Well, you've already figured out that you need to tell Cedric, that's one part of the plan, but that doesn't help you battle a dragon," she said.

"I'm confused, to be honest," Harry admitted.

"What are you confused about?" she asked.

"Ron won't talk to me. He believes that I wrote my name on that piece of parchment. He still believes that I wanted to be in the Tournament. Hagrid believes that Ron warned me about the dragons but I told him that Ron and I aren't on speaking terms right now. I'm not too sure what Hermione thinks. Hagrid told me that the dragons are from Romania. Ron knows that because his brother, Charlie helped out with the dragons," he said in one breath.

"Give me some time and let me see if I can find anything else, okay?" Ella suggested. Harry nodded. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing, really," he answered.

"Let's spend some time together. We haven't really gotten the chance to talk, I mean, just talking," Ella said. Harry smiled and nodded. He liked talking with Ella, especially about his mother. He wanted to hear all about her.

The next day at school, Harry walked down the hallway and the students were picking on him about how he was a cheater but he ignored him as he went to find Cedric. Harry found him lying on his back, surrounded by his friends, laughing, he said, "Could I have a word?"

"All right," he said as he left a group of friends who were talking down at Harry.

"Dragons, that's the first task. They've got one for each of us," he told him.

Cedric looked at him a bit startled, "Are you serious? And Fleur and Krum, do they...?"

"Yes," he responded when he knew what he meant.

"Right. Hey, listen, about the badges. I've asked them not to wear them..."

Harry dismissed it and said, "Don't worry about it." He then walked away and saw Ron talking with Seamus.

Harry heard Seamus saying, "It's not like I try to blow things up, exactly, it just sorta happens. You gotta admit though, fire is fascinating." When Seamus saw Harry coming up to them, he became quiet.

"You're a right foul git, you know that?" Harry told him.

"You think so?" Ron asked.

"I know so!" Harry retorted.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, stay away from me!" Harry told him.

"Fine," Ron said and stalked off with Seamus following him.

Harry was just about to leave when he heard Draco ask, "Why so tense, Potter? My father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think you're going to last ten minutes in this tournament. He disagrees. He thinks you won't last five!"

Harry' went up to him and said, "I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy! He's vile and cruel, and you're just pathetic," He turned around and walked off.

Draco pulled out his wand, "Pathetic?"

"Oh, no you don't, sonny! I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned!" Moody had come out from the hallway and turned Draco into a ferret. Harry looked and started to laugh. Students were gathering around and laughing, "You stinking, cowardly, scrummy…"

McGonagall had appeared to see what was going on, "Professor Moody!"

"…back-stabbing—"

"What are you doing?" McGonagall asked.

"Teaching," he responded as he kept his wand at the ferret and making it move up and down in the air.

McGonagall stood there, appalled, "Is that a… Is that a student?"

"Technically it's a ferret," he said. He stopped what he was doing. The ferret laid flat on the floor.

McGongall turned the ferret back into Draco. He immediately stood up and was scared of Moody and said, "My father will hear about this!"

Moody chased after him, "Is that a threat?"

"Professor Moody!" McGongall called out as he started to chase after Draco.

"Is that a threat?"

"Professor!" McGonagall said again.

"Is that a threat? I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, boy!"

McGonagall gave up and said, "Alastor!"

"It doesn't end here!" he called out to Draco.

"Alastor, we never use transfiguration as a punishment. Surely Dumbledore told you that," McGonagall commented.

"He might have mentioned it."

"Well, you will do well to remember it," she turned around and saw the students that were there, "Away."

Later that day, Harry went to Ella's home. It's becoming a habit for him to visit Ella in her home after his classes. But he understood why. He was seeing less and less of Ella in the classrooms and wanted to brighten her day by visiting her. He told her the conversation that he had with Moody. "He asked what I was going to do with the dragon. I told him that I didn't know. He said, 'Listen to me, Potter. Your pal Diggory? By your age he could turn a whistle into a watch and have it sing you the time. Miss Delacour is as much a fairy princess as I am. As for Krum, his head may be filled with sawdust, but Karkaroff's is not. They'll have a strategy. And you can bet that it will play to Krum's strengths. Come on, Potter, what are you strengths?'"

"How did you respond to that?" Ella asked.

"I told him that I thought I was a fair flyer," he said. Ella laughed. "What?"

"Do you really think that you're a fair flyer, Harry?"

"Yes," he said, nodding.

She smiled all the more, "Harry, you are so modest. I wish you could see yourself on the broomstick. You're more than a fair flyer. You're a brilliant one."

"But I'm not allowed a broom," he said.

"Okay, what are you allowed?"

"A wand," he answered.

"Harry," she started off.

"What?"

"Harry, let me ask you something," she said. "What kind of charm can you use to call a broom with your wand?" He looked at her and wasn't sure how to answer. "Just think about it and ask Hermione for help. She'll know what to do."

Harry took a moment and asked, "Is it possible that I can use a summoning charm to call a broom?" Ella stood there quiet, drinking from her cup. He immediately smiled. "Thank you, Miss Cullen" and he left to get help from Hermione. Once he was able to figure out what Moody and Ella wanted him to do and informed Hermione who thought that was ingenious immediately started to help him. Hermione and Harry would meet in the Gryffindor common room when no one was around and would practice.

When Ella found out when the first task was going to happen, she was dead set on going there that day and had numerous disagreements with Edward, who thought that it would be best if she stayed home. "Edward, he needs me."

"Love, he'll be fine. Professor Dumbledore will be down there doing everything he can to protect and support him," he said.

"Other than Dumbledore who else is on his side?" she asked him. She knew that he knew that many of his friends abandoned him. This was one of those times that she was not going to let Harry feel alone.

She could tell that he was fighting against himself in regards to protecting Ella and protecting Harry. "Ella, are you sure you need to go?" he finally inquired.

"Yes, Harry needs me, Edward," Ella said, relying on Edward to help her walk. They walked out of the house and against Carlisle's order and walked towards the location of where the four champions will be gathering for the first task.

While they were walking towards the Champions tent, they heard the announcer begin talking, "Your attention, please. This is a great day for all of us. Each of the three tasks involves very considerable danger. Please keep your seats at all times. This will minimize any risks you may be exposed to."

They could also hear Hermione talk to Harry, "Harry? Is that you?"

"Yeah," he responded.

"I'm sure we all wish our champions…" the announcer said.

"How are you feeling? Okay?" she asked.

"…the greatest of luck," the announcer finished.

"The key is to concentrate. After that, you just have to—" Hermione started off.

"…battle a dragon," Harry finished. But Hermione couldn't say anything else and came out of her hiding place and hugged Harry. Before they knew what had happened, they saw a flash of light and saw Rita there.

"Young love," she said. "How… stirring. If everything goes unfortunately today, you two may even make the front page."

"You have no business here. This tent is for champions… and friends," Krum said.

"No matter. We've got what we wanted," she said.

When they got there, they saw Dumbledore and the others there. "Miss Cullen, what may I ask are you doing here? You should be at home with Dr. Cullen," Dumbledore said.

"I'm here for Harry," she replied. "He needs my support. Please, professor, let me be at his side." Dumbledore nodded and then walked into the tent with Ella following him. Harry saw her come in and smiled a bit. He felt both relieved and comforted that she was here. Ella stood on the side, still leaning on Edward.

"Good day, champions," he said. "Gather round, please. Now, you've waited, you've wondered, and at the last, the moment has arrived. A moment only four of you can fully appreciate." He looked down and saw Hermione, "What are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

"Sorry, I'll just go," she said and left.

"Barty, the bag," he said and moved to the side to allow Barty to instruct the champions.

"Champions, in a circle around me. Miss Delacour, over here," he said motioned for her to stand on his right side. "Mr. Krum," he motioned for him to stand next to her. "And Potter, Mr. Potter, over here. That's right," he instructed for him to stand on his left. Ella stood behind him and rested her right hand on his shoulder. He opened a bag, "Now, Miss Delacour, if you will," she put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon. It had a number two around its neck, "The Welsh Green. Mr. Krum," He pulled out another model with a number three around its neck, "The Chinese Fireball." He put the bag in front of Cedric who put his hand into the bag and out came a bluish-gray model and the number one tied around its neck. "The Swedish Short-Snout." Barty finally got to Harry and he put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the final one, "The Hungarian Horntail. These represent four very real dragons, each of which has been given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple: Collect the egg. This you must do, for each egg contains a clue, without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. The numbers refer to the order in which you are to take the dragons. Any questions?" he asked and no one said anything. "Very well. Good luck, champions." He left the champions tent.

"Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle. He left at that moment.

"Harry, are you all right?"

"I'm scared and nervous but not as much as before. I'm glad that you're here. It helps me to know that you're supporting me," he admitted honestly.

"Look, I can't stay around that long, but come see me at my home when you're finished, okay? You can tell me all about it," she said. He nodded.

After he battled the dragon, he immediately went to Ella's house, still holding onto the golden egg. He didn't care if he was dirty. All he wanted was to see Ella. He knocked on the door and he saw Carlisle there, "Dr. Cullen."

"Harry, come on in. I take it you just completed your first task?" he asked as he led Harry into living area.

"Yeah," he replied. "I was just wondering about something, sir."

"What is it?"

"Well, since you're a doctor, could you just give me a check-up? I didn't bother going to the hospital wing at Hogwarts to do it," he asked. He felt a bit embarrassed to ask.

Carlisle smiled, "Let's go to my office. Was seeing Ella more of a priority for you than taking care of yourself?"

"Yes," he said. Carlisle smiled at that.

Harry took off most of his clothes for the check-up. After a few minutes, Carlisle said, "You're fine. There are no serious injuries except some minor cuts and bruises. Nothing like a few days of rest and some hot baths won't help."

"Thank you," he said and started to put on his dirty clothes.

"Would you like to take a quick shower before seeing Ella?" Harry nodded and was grateful for the opportunity to clean up. I'll have Edward bring you some clothes, but you can use the bathroom that's across Ella's bedroom." While he was in the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. Alice opened the door and allowed Hermione to step in.

"Is Harry here?" she asked.

"Yes, he's taking a shower right now, but you can wait in Ella's bedroom," she said as she closed the door and led her to the destination.

"Hermione's here to see you, Ella," Alice said as she walked in, "and Harry after he's done taking his shower."

"Miss Cullen, how are you?" she asked as she sat down on the chair next to the bed.

"I'm well. How are things with your classes?" Ella asked.

"I'm doing better, now that I'm taking less classes than last year," she answered truthfully.

"That's good. Are Harry and Ron still at odds?" she asked.

"Yes, I hate being put in the middle of them. I do my best to avoid disagreements of both of them but I do my best to help Harry with his tasks," Hermione said.

"Did you actually help Harry with the Summoning charm?" Ella asked.

"Yes," she answered enthusiastically. "I thought that was very clever. He's an amazing flyer."

"Try convincing him of that," Ella said.

"He still thinks he's a fair flyer?" she inquired. Ella nodded, smiling. Hermione shook her head, "Harry!" Everyone laughed. At that moment, Harry walked into the room.

"Miss Cullen, Hermione," he said.

"Glad you're safe and completed the first task, Harry," Ella said. "Why don't you sit and tell me what happened."