AN Disclaimer Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling I own nothing. This is fanfiction, I make no money out of this whatsoever. Now that's out of the way...
Chapter 25 – The First Task
The days seemed to speed by and all too soon the day of the first task had dawned. Harry picked at his breakfast, not noticing his friends efforts as they tried to engage him in conversation. He had been working with Sirius ever since they had found out about the dragons on a way to get past them and they thought they had a decent plan, however that did nothing to stop the nerves that were assaulting him from all sides.
Eventually he couldn't take anymore and he stood abruptly, pushing his plate away from him and stalking out of the hall. The First Task didn't start for another couple of hours but he didn't think he was able to stand the waiting for much longer. He knew what was coming and he knew that, even despite all their planning, all the spells he had practiced until he was able to cast them in his sleep, there was still a good chance that he could get hurt and if that happened it would hurt Sirius and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt his godfather.
Sirius had given him so much, loved him as if he was his own son and was even going to adopt him and Harry could see the hurt in his godfather's eyes whenever the tournament was mentioned and he knew the man blamed himself for Harry being stuck in it. It didn't matter that Harry didn't blame the man for one second, quite the contrary, he was so so relieved and happy to have the unconditional support that the animagus offered but that didn't change what Sirius felt and Harry knew the coming task would be just as hard for his godfather to watch as it would be for him to compete in it.
His wandering feet carried him to the shore of the lake and he stood, eyes staring out unseeingly over the black water, his mind in a jumbled mess. He'd often come here whenever he wanted solitude, very few students bothered to walk down to the lake side and even the noises of the castle were muted by the rushing wind and the lap of water against the shore. The constant movement of the waves calmed him slightly, it was a reminder that there was still peace in the world even when everything seemed to be falling to pieces around him.
An arm settled across his shoulders and he felt himself being pulled back into a warm embrace. After the initial start of surprise he relaxed, he didn't have to look to know who it was who had come to find him, he would know his godfather anywhere, not to mention, Sirius was the only person who had ever shown him this sort of parental affection. "I'm alright," he murmured, more to reassure his godfather than out of any belief that the words were actually true.
"If you were alright you wouldn't be down here brooding," Sirius corrected softly, "I know you're worried Harry, the way you stormed out of the hall showed that rather clearly," There was a faint hint of amusement in the observation and Harry felt the first flickers of annoyance but it was hard to be annoyed with Sirius when he was still cocooned in the safe haven his godfather's arms provided, "But you have every right to be, Merlin I knows I am and I'm not even competing." The animagus's voice grew thick and Harry felt him press a rough kiss into his hair, "But I swear to you pup that you will get through this, you will be able to do this."
Harry smiled slightly, resting his head against Sirius's chest, although he didn't quite believe the words nonetheless they had still eased something inside him. The nerves and fear were still there of course but they no longer felt quite so suffocating, he wasn't sure that he would get through it but now there was a faint hint of hope, the thought he might be able to make it.
"Thanks Sirius," he murmured, his eyes glancing upwards to meet his godfather's concerned grey ones and he saw a smile touch Sirius's features.
"Anything for you pup," his godfather replied and this time Harry's smile reached his eyes.
They stayed there for a few more moments, Harry still not making any move to escape from Sirius's embrace, just watching the water and drinking in the comfort and support his godfather offered so readily. But unfortunately, no matter what either of them wanted, they couldn't avoid the Tournament forever. Sirius's arm moved to his shoulders and his godfather gave him a slight nudge in the direction of the castle, "Come on pup," he murmured, "We'd best be getting back, the task starts in a just over an hour and they wanted all four of you to be in the tent well before then." Harry sighed but resolutely turned and started on the long walk back to the castle, Sirius's arm still wrapped firmly round his shoulders.
Strange as it may seem, he felt a lot calmer now and he knew Sirius was the same, it was odd, how with the task mere minutes away, it didn't seem quite as frightening as it had done when they had first found of about the dragons. It had been one of the first times he had seen his godfather lose his composure.
The black dog blurred for a moment and in its place stood the tall figure of his godfather. Harry all but ran to him and immediately Sirius's arms were wrapped tightly around him. "It's alright Harry," he murmured, although Harry could clearly hear a strain in his godfather's voice that belied the words he was speaking.
Sirius drew back a moment, studying Harry's face closely. Evidently, something he saw there disquieted him, for immediately he moved towards the sofa, settling down on it and pulled the boy gently down to join him before wrapping him in an embrace and carding his fingers softly through the black hair. After a moment Harry relaxed fully in the arms that were holding him, Sirius had promised that he would help him, he wouldn't be alone, he would get through this. But even as the thoughts rose in his mind he knew they were hollow, the fear was still there, biting sharp in his mind and no matter what he tried to tell himself he still couldn't believe that he would be able to get past it.
Slowly Harry felt the tenseness that had risen with him at the discovery of what he would be facing, melt away, but the worries that had assaulted him when he first realised precisely what he was going to have to face were still plaguing him and they weren't being assuaged in any way by his godfather's presence and comfort. "How am I going to be able to do this?" He exclaimed desperately, "I know I fought a basilisk but I had Fawkes and the sword and I didn't know what I was doing really, but this time I need a plan, I need to know what I doing and I haven't got a clue." His voice had been steadily rising, almost bordering on hysterical.
"Hush Harry," Sirius had commanded, "It is going to be alright, we will find a way to get past the dragon and I will ensure that you survive, I promise."
His expression turned thoughtful, "I'm sure there will be some interesting and useful books in the Black Library, I'll get Nixie to find anything that could be useful and the Hogwarts Library has to have some decent books. Not to mention you only have to get past it, not fight it, so I'm sure that I already know some decent spells, some of which are fourth year level, which I can teach you while we research, so you will have no chance of going in blind."
Harry managed to summon up a smile, certainly it seemed less bleak than it had done when he first been faced by the dragons and not for the first time he thanked whatever gods that were listening that he had Sirius as a godfather. Sirius ruffled his hair then moved to stand, and as Harry glanced up his was struck by the glittering anger he could see in the man's eyes. He had seen anger in adults before, with his uncle he had seen it virtually every day, but he had never seen anger quite so deadly as the anger that was bleeding through Sirius's counternance.
He couldn't help it, he froze instantly, and it was only the knowledge that Sirius would never hurt him, that he loved Harry like a son, and that the rage was not directed at him, which prevented him from crying out. Suddenly the man turned, spinning on his heel as he headed for the portrait hole, and almost involuntarily a cry left Harry's lips, regardless of his apprehension, "Sirius!"
Instantly his godfather froze and when he turned back towards Harry the rage was gone, to be replaced by regret. Before Harry had enough time to realise what was happening, Sirius had crossed the room and enfolded him in his arms. "I'm sorry Harry," his godfather's soft voice murmured, and all traces of the anger had bled out of it, "I never meant to scare you, and I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me, especially when you needed me."
"It's alright," Harry whispered, not knowing what else to say. His godfather shook his head in disagreement, but did not say anything further, merely pouring as much love into the hug as he was able to, trying to reassure the boy that nothing he had done was aimed at Harry. Finally Harry spoke again, "Where were you going?" he asked quietly. Sirius glanced down at him,
"I was going to give the Ministry Officials a piece of my mind. I cannot believe they would be so irresponsible as to bring dragons to a school full of children and force you to go up against them, even if you don't have to fight them directly. Not to mention, they have you facing nesting mothers, and they are always the most dangerous."
Harry bit his lip, "Could you wait until after the task please," at his godfather's quizzical look he hurried to elaborate, "It's just if you confront them now they will probably stop you from helping me and I would really struggle if you couldn't help me. If you did it after the task they wouldn't know that you already knew."
Sirius pondered it for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. Although the ministry would never keep him from helping his godson, Harry was right with the fact it would cause unnecessary complications, and realistically he knew it wouldn't change anything, they wouldn't change the task now, not to mention he did not want to do anything that would make Harry worry anymore than he already did.
And Sirius had kept his promise Harry mused. He hadn't gone and shouted at the Ministry Officials yet and he had helped Harry was much as possible, teaching him and researching in every spare hour he had. Even though Harry wasn't a hundred percent sure that the scheme they had cooked up and practiced tirelessly for several weeks would work precisely as it was meant to, he knew he was in a far better position than he would have been without his godfather's help, knowing him, he would have decided it was a good idea to try and out fly the bloody thing or something.
They finally stopped in front of the large tent that was reserved for the champions but before Harry could go inside, he was swept into an almost bone crushing hug. "You are going to be fine," Sirius murmured, "It'll be over before you know it." But while the words were spoken to Harry, he knew that they were mainly for his godfather's benefit. He hugged the animagus back, trying to give the older man the comfort he needed. Eventually Sirius pulled back, clearing his throat, "Good luck," he managed to say, his voice somewhat hoarse. Harry summoned up a weak smile, before sucking in a deep breath and heading into the Champions tent.
He saw immediately that he was the last to arrive, Fleur, Krum and Cedric were already there, pacing the inside of the tent, a whole variety of expressions plastered over their features. Harry noticed however, that whilst all of them looked worried, there was none of the panic that he would have expected if they hadn't known about the task, and he knew his decision to tell Cedric had been the right one. At least now, all the Champions knew exactly what they would be facing.
Harry joined in with the pacing, mentally reviewing exactly what he was going to do. His plan involved two key elements, distraction and sneaking past the creature. For the distraction, Sirius had taught him one of the Marauder's speciality spells, lifesize fireworks that acted like the creature they were emulating, and he intended to create a huge dragon that would be more of a threat than him, to distract the dragon's attention for long enough for him to deal with the other part of the plan.
During their research, he had discovered that, whilst dragons could see and hear, and used those skills, they mainly operated by scent, and further research in the Black Library had struck gold. An ancient spell, that could completely mask the scent of whomever it was cast on for a period of twelve hours. The original writings, suggested that it had been used to mask the scent of humans around werewolves, if they didn't smell like humans the wolf would not attack, but it was also useful here too. The other spells was going to use were more well known, but that didn't mean they were easy. A disillusionment charm was seventh year material, and whilst silencing spells were fourth year, they had not been taught yet and they did take a long time to cast.
Reasonably sure that he knew what he was doing, with a couple of spells in reverse should everything go to pot, Harry glanced round at the other champions, wondering what plans and techniques they had come up with. He was sure it would be very interesting to watch if he was not competing but unfortunately that hadn't happened. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the arrival of Ludo Bagman, the Ministry Official came in almost bouncing in anticipation, clutching a cloth bag in his fist.
After all the pleasantries were out of the way they each selected their dragon and Harry had to bite back a groan when he drew the Horntail. Not only did he know it was reputed to be one of the fiercest dragons, and a breed extraordinarily protective of their young, it was also the last one to be faced, which meant he would have to wait whilst the other three competed which would do nothing for his nerves. He tuned out the sound of Ludo Bagman's voice as he gave them last minute advice and returned to his previous occupation, namely pacing back and forth in the tent.
He waited, nerves jangling as one by one the champions were called. He could clearly hear Bagman's commentary through the thin canvas walls and he wished he could see what was going on. Listening to the words without being able to see what had caused all the exclamations was definitely worse than seeing what was going on. His mind run rampant, conjuring up all sorts of horrible scenarios, all the things a dragon could do to a person.
After a length of time that had seemed both infinite and to pass in the blink of an eye he heard his name called and on leaden feet he clambered out into the bright sunlight of the arena, his breath catching as he first caught sight of the Horntail.
The dragon was immense, scales gleaming in the sunlight, almost golden eyes shining with an ancient and powerful intelligence, razor sharp claws digging into the rock around the nest. The creature was magnificent and Harry knew that if he didn't have to somehow fight this huge beast and get around it, in the process stealing something from its nest, he would have admired the creature.
But he couldn't afford to spend time staring, between one breath and the next he dived behind an outcrop of rock, using it as a physical shield as he pulled together his scattered thoughts and began to cast. The first spells were the ones he was going to apply to himself, he didn't know how much time his distraction would give him and as such he needed to be completely ready when the time came.
As soon as all the charms were cast he stepped out of from behind the rock and with a final wave of his wand the huge firework dragon appeared on the other side of the arena. He ignored the cries of surprise from the audience above and he held his breath, his attention fixed on the dragon, willing it to move. It had its eyes fixed on his creation but so far it had not moved. Then his creation roared and the Horntail lunged forward, a stream of fire flowing from its jaws.
That was his cue. Heart pounding in his chest he launched himself into a full out sprint, legs churning as he sped towards the nest. He risked a single glance over his shoulder and he could see the Horntail was still engaged with his distraction. The nest was getting closer and closer, he was almost there and with one final push he managed to clamber into the nest, his gaze searching for the golden egg.
Suddenly as if out of nowhere the vast bulk of the Horntail settled over the nest, evidently finished with his creation and he watched with terror as two of the spells concealing him rippled and vanished. The silencing spells and the disillusionment charm had gone, leaving him stranded, visible and noisy in the middle of the Horntail's nest.
He froze, the only thing that he could be thankful for was that the scent removing spell was still there, it would mean he would have to move or the dragon would have to look at her eggs before he was noticed. Belatedly he remembered a sentence that had been tacked on the end of a paragraph in one of the older books, "In some breeds of dragon their natural magic will dispel any magic that was created after their birth when it is brought in close proximity." Mentally Harry cursed, he knew that the two spells he had used were relatively new inventions, a hundred or so years old, so there was no chance of reapplying them until he was out of the nest, and whilst there were other spells he knew, he couldn't cast them silently, and if he tried to cast them, he would immediately attract the dragon's attention, and that was only if they would actually survive the proximity with the dragon.
He was trying desperately to come up with a plan that would not result in either death or severe injury when he heard something that shocked him to the core. Above him the dragon started to hiss and to his surprise he found he could understand every word. The Horntail was murmuring to her eggs, Harry assumed it was a lullaby or story as the dragon sung of battles and ancient warriors. The dragon was speaking parseltongue which meant that he could communicate with the dragon.
Very faintly he began to see the glimmer of an idea, if he could communicate with the dragon perhaps he could somehow persuade it to let him have the golden egg that it would not recognise as its own anyway and perhaps it would let him go. He had to admit it was a long shot, there was no guarantee that just because he could speak with it that it would not harm him, but he was uncomfortably aware that he didn't have many, if any options. Stuck in the middle of the nest, unable to move without drawing the dragon's attention and unable to cast magic that would not evaporate pretty much instantly, and certainly unable to cast silently.
He was about to draw breath to speak when his luck kicked in once more, the Horntail swung its head downwards and in a instant he found himself nose to nose with the dragon.
He flinched, expecting at any moment the burst of fire that would completely obliterate him but it didn't come. Instead the dragon appraised him, golden eyes glowing as they surveyed him. "A hatchling," the sound escaped as a low hiss, "But without a scent," Harry held his breath as the Horntail nudged him sending him stumbling back. In the corner of his brain that was still working he registered that the scales were quite cool and unlike what he had been expecting the scales on the dragon's muzzle were not sharp. Above him the dragon was continuing its musings, "This is a strange creature indeed, a hatchling without a scent but quite solid and not a being of magic."
A claw whipped out but instead of crushing him it picked him up gently, lifting him from the nest and placing him on the edge of the crag, mere meters from the nest. Harry's brain was working overdrive, the dragon obviously did not perceive him as a threat, she was more curious than anything else and while it stayed that way he was safe, he just had to ensure that it remained that way. "Great Dragon," he hissed, deciding that flattery increased his chance of survival, "I mean no harm to you or to your eggs."
He saw the Horntail rear backwards in shock, before the neck arched and the snout swept down to regard him steadily. "You speak?" Harry nodded politely "Yes Great Dragon." The Horntail snorted in what he could only describe as amusement.
"None of that now hatchling," the dragon chided him and Harry couldn't quite pinpoint the strange sensation that swept over him at the words. The dragon was treating him as if he was a very young child, but he supposed that to a dragon he would look like a small child. Norbert had grown at an alarming rate after all. "I am but a mother defending my eggs, I have no need of flattery. Address me as what I am hatchling, not what conceit would make me. Now why are you at my nest?"
Harry knew he had to choose his words very carefully, he needed to make her understand what he was doing without incurring her wrath. "Mother," he said, and the word tasted odd in his mouth. He had never had anyone to call that name, and even though the dragon was treating it like a title, it still couldn't shake all the connotations the word had for Harry and all the loss. "Humans took an object from me and hid it near your nest, I was searching for the thing they took."
A puff of smoke slipped through the dragon's nostrils and her eyes narrowed to slits. "Humans, egg stealers, nest breakers, cursèd creatures," the venom in her hiss was unmistakable and Harry was suddenly extremely thankful, that due to the scent spell, she had not detected him as human. "What did they steal from you hatchling?"
"A golden metal egg," he answered, hope colouring his voice. The situation had seemed bleak no more than minutes ago but now, not only had he not been eaten, he also had spoken to the dragon who no longer perceived him as a threat and maybe, just maybe she would help him and at the very least she would not attack him anymore.
"The egg is yours hatchling?" She asked, curiosity colouring her voice, "I had wondered where that had come from, and indeed, apart from the fading scent of humans on it, it has no scent at all."
"Yes Mother," he replied and the dragon regarded him for a moment before her head whipped round into her nest, returning moments later with the egg held lightly in her jaws. Gently she set it down by him and smiling up at her gratefully Harry reached forward and lifted the cool metal up. "Thank you." The Horntail nudged him again, her golden eyes sparkling.
"You are very welcome hatchling, but I think you should get back to your own mother now, I'm sure she is worried about you."
Harry couldn't help but feel sad at those words. He had never had a mother to fuss or worry over him and he couldn't deny that when he was younger, and even at Hogwarts he had often been jealous of the other children for having parents, and he had definitely envied Ron for the family he had. But that didn't matter now. He had Sirius, he had a parent and he knew that Sirius was going to be almost out of his mind with worry. That thought reminded him that he ought to keep moving, he never wanted to worry his godfather, so he bowed to the dragon, speaking his thanks for the second time before he turned and headed towards the edge of the enclosure and the exit.
As he stepped through the exit and to safety the noise of the crowd which had just washed over him in the enclosure assailed his ears. "And our youngest champion is the quickest to get his egg," the voice of Ludo Bagman boomed above the noise of the milling crowd, "And by taming the dragon too. What a remarkable feat, this is definitely going to shorten the odds on Mr Potter here."
He couldn't quite believe it. How on earth had he managed to be the quickest to get the egg? It had seemed like he had spent an age in the enclosure and he knew that the adrenaline was still racing through his body. But it was over, he had done it and incredibly he had not been injured in any way at all. Suddenly relief swept through him, he had done it. The first task was over and he had survived.
He caught sight of Sirius along with Professor McGonagall and Hagrid hurrying towards him, and even from this distance he could see the whiteness of his godfather's face as well as the relieved smiles each wore. They caught up with him and in an instant Harry felt himself pulled sharply into his godfather's embrace as he was held in a grip so tight it was almost painful.
"You're alright," Sirius whispered again and again, almost a prayer as he tried to reassured himself that Harry was here and safe. He had never been more frightened than when he had seen Harry flicker into visibility in the middle of the Horntail's nest. When he was stuck there it was impossible to extract him or subdue the dragon if it became aggressive before it would have killed Harry and for several awful moments he had become convinced he was about to lose his child. There were no words to describe the terror, pain and grief he had felt in those heart-stopping moments until the dragon had extracted Harry from the nest and he had seen Harry start to speak to it, and even then he had not been able to suppress any of his worry until his pup had exited the enclosure and the dragon had been subdued by the handlers.
He tightened his grip even further, stroking one shaking hand through the boy's raven hair and he felt Harry bury himself in his embrace, wrapping his own arms around him. Sirius felt relief well up inside him, Harry was safe, he was holding him tightly and miraculously his godson had escaped the enclosure without so much as a scratch.
"Sirius, Poppy needs to have a look at Harry," McGonagall's voice broke into his thoughts and immediately he pulled back although he kept a tight grip on Harry's shoulders, his face becoming taut with worry once more. Had he missed an injury, was Harry hurt, had it hurt him? Worries began to build in his mind and he started to move quickly towards the infirmary tent, Harry hurrying along in his wake.
Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them, and she clucked her tongue disapprovingly as her gaze roved over both of them and she ushered them inside and into one of four curtained off areas before forcing Harry to sit down on the hospital bed. Immediately Sirius sat down beside him, never relinquishing his hold on his child. Madam Pomfrey took one look at him and with a wave of her wand a vial filled with a blue potion flew into her hand and she presented it to him. "Drink up Black," she commanded crisply even as her wand was up and waving over Harry in the familiar diagnostic patterns as she muttered uncomplimentary sentences about the organisers and their idiocy in bringing in dragons for the champions to face. Sentiments Sirius agreed with completely.
But the words reminded him of precisely why Harry had been in danger in the first place and he pulled Harry closer and he felt the teen rest his head against his shoulder as Harry sensed that his godfather needed the comfort. "I'm fine," Harry murmured, "Madam Pomfrey will confirm it in a moment and I'm sorry I worried you." Those words more than anything shocked Sirius out of his thoughts.
"It wasn't your fault pup," he said fiercely, "And I am incredibly proud of you. You were absolutely amazing out there." He saw Harry smile at the praise and he felt some of the anxiety drain away. The task was over and he didn't need to be worried anymore, Harry was alive and uninjured and that was all that mattered.
"Are you actually going to drink that potion?" Harry asked curiously, drawing Sirius attention to the vial the nurse had handed him, a calming draught he realised now. He shook his head, "I think it'll keep, anyway, I need to have a temper on me if I'm going to go and shout at the Ministry Officials don't I?" Although his tone was light and humorous, and Harry chuckled, there was an undercurrent of anger laced through. Sirius had not forgotten his anger at the people who had designed such a deadly task, and whilst his rage had been pushed to a back seat due to his fear and worry in the actual task it did not mean it was any less potent, indeed, if anything, it had become worse.
"You've got a clean bill of health," Madam Pomfrey's voice interrupted, "I have to say I'm impressed," she smiled at him, "You managed to face a dragon and come out without a scratch, especially impressive as you managed to get that close as well. Now is it too much to hope that I don't see you again for the rest of the year?"
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Sirius told her and the ghost of a smile touched her lips before she swept off deeper into the tent to deal with the other champions who had managed to acquire a variety of nasty injuries. Harry hopped off the bed as soon as she left, he still couldn't really stand to be in hospitals and he always tried to get out as soon as possible.
Sirius stood with him keeping his arm fixed around his shoulders. Harry didn't really mind, there was a part of him that was embarrassed of course, but he knew just how worried his godfather had been and he knew the gesture was reassuring the animagus and he would do anything to try to help his godfather. Sirius had given him so much and had never asked for anything in return, so anything he could do to repay the huge debt he owed to the man he would do gladly, not to mention, over the summer he had discovered that he liked having a parent to fuss and worry over him. It made him feel cared and loved for in a way he had never experienced back at the Dursleys.
"Shall we go and discover what your scores are pup?" Sirius asked quietly, snapping him out of his thoughts. Harry nodded, trying to pretend his attention hadn't been wandering but Sirius just chuckled and ruffled his hair as he led him from the tent. They emerged to find both Hermione and Ron waiting, along with Neville, Susan and Hannah, worried expressions on each of their faces, "Well done mate," exclaimed Ron and he surged forward, along with Neville to pat him on the back whilst Hermione was torn between worrying and congratulating him.
After reassuring them that he was completely fine and being congratulated several times, Harry with what was now almost an entourage headed towards the stadium, now empty of dragons and stood facing the judging panel. He watched calmly as the numbers were shot into the air, a nine, a second nine, and third nine, a ten, and finally a five.
He heard his friends shout their indignation but Harry couldn't really care less about the biased scoring. He didn't want to have any part in the tournament anyway so the actual scores didn't matter at all, what really mattered was the support all his friends were giving him and his godfather's soft whisper telling him that he was proud of him. All that meant far far more than any stupid tournament.
Sirius was seething. The first task had finished an hour or so ago, and a few minutes ago Harry had left his quarters to go and enjoy the inevitable party that was taking place in the common room. He couldn't begrudge the child an opportunity to have fun with his friends, and Merlin knows that the boy needed it after the tension of the task. He had been inches from dying and Sirius had never been more thankful that his godson was a parselmouth, he was under no illusions that if Harry hadn't been the chances of him getting out of the nest alive would have been reduced down to almost zero.
He felt his heart speed up again as he remembered just how close he had come to losing his child, and although he knew that Harry was safe, that he hadn't been harmed in anyway, it didn't stop the anger from burning brightly in his chest. They should never have chosen a task that had that potential to become deadly, especially as there was no way to stop the dragon in time if something went wrong, and it very nearly had.
Forcibly he pulled his thoughts back, there was no use stewing over what might have happened to Harry, it would do no good, and he knew that his child had come out unscathed but that did not mean that he was going to let it pass. Narrowing his eyes he strode purposefully out of his quarters, intent on searching down those morons in the Ministry who had dared to commission such a dangerous task.
Crouch and Bagman glanced up as he stalked into the chamber which had been provided for the Ministry Officials for the duration of the tournament. Immediately Bagman turned towards him, a smile starting to form on his face, although it faltered slightly when he caught sight of the murderous expression on Sirius's features, nonetheless he managed to greet Sirius in a cheerful voice, "Good Afternoon Lord Black, I have to say the task was spectacular wasn't it, and young Harry's performance just remarkable, I'm sure you must be so proud."
Sirius smiled back tightly, "Of course, I am immensely proud of my godson." Somehow Bagman managed to miss the warning signs in his voice and face as he continued on blithely, "Such a thrilling task, the dragons were certainly an inspirational idea, and I have to say they put on quite a show."
"Indeed," Sirius's voice was soft and menacing and finally something appeared to be getting through to the man as he suddenly fell silent as he looked at Sirius, something akin to fear gracing his features, "Such a show it was," the sarcasm was thick, "Such a brilliant idea to have Class 5 dangerous creatures brought into a school and then have children face them to 'put on a show' as it were." The words were sharply mocking and he saw Bagman flinch slightly, and he saw Crouch had finally started to pay attention to the confrontation.
"Now then Black," the man interrupted, "There is no place to be questioning a tradition that is fostering cooperation between magical countries." Sirius glared at him, letting his dislike of the man stand out clear on his face.
"A tradition that has claimed lives." He stated flatly, "A tradition that was abandoned because the death toll grew so large, tell me then Crouch," and the bitterness and rage were easy to hear, "Why I should not be questioning this tradition when tragedy was only narrowly missed today?" His voice was piercing and dark eyes bored into the men in front of him. Ludo Bagman chose that moment to bluster in,
"There was no missed tragedy Lord Black, I assure you that the tournament is completely safe."
It was the wrong thing to say. Sirius's eyes went completely flat and rage bubbled up inside him. Harry had nearly died and not only had the ministry had absolutely no safeguards in place they were denying it ever happened. "No missed tragedy," he hissed as the air around him began to crackle with energy, "My son nearly died and you have the gall to say that there was no missed tragedy? A child was entered against their will, something that is of this moment being investigated by the DMLE and you say the tournament is safe?" Black eyes gleamed with anger as he surveyed the two men in front of him, waiting for a reply.
"Tell me," he said finally when neither of them responded, "What were your precautions to ensure that none of the champions were killed or grievously injured?"
"The dragon handlers were on hand to subdue the beasts if they became out of control." Crouch offered somewhat defensively.
"And if they had gone on a rampage half the stands could have been incinerated before they would have been able to be subdued," he pointed out ruthlessly, the building magic and the bite in his voice hitting the message home, "And for the champions in close quarters, if anything had gone wrong and it did, there was nothing they could do, you are only lucky they managed to escape with so few injuries." Sirius squashed the rising fear as his mind skipped back to seeing Harry practically defenceless in that nest. His voice dropped lower, the darkness in his eyes shining so brightly that they both took a step backwards, "And if anything had happened to Harry I promise you that neither of you would still be enjoying the aftermath of the task."
He paused to let the message sink in and he could see the fear in Bagman's eyes and he watched as the man refused to meet his gaze. Crouch on the other hand was glaring at him angrily, "You cannot threaten me Black!"
"I just did," Sirius shot back without missing a beat, the magic flaring around him and the light in his eyes forcing the man to hesitate, "You sent me to hell on earth for twelve years without the courtesy of a trial, you condemned my child to growing up with abusive bastards, and in doing that you hurt him and that is something I will never forgive. I will protect him with everything I have and rest assured if you try to cross me you will find that the whole might of House Black against you. Is that understood?" He was breathing heavily but the light in his eyes and power that laced his voice told both men that he meant every single word.
There was a long pause then finally Crouch nodded. Sirius gazed at them for several more moments. "I hope you ensure you have proper protections for the next task. After all nobody wants anyone to lose their life in this tournament." He left the sentence hanging there and he saw Bagman nodded frantically as he caught the double meaning in the words before hurriedly drawing Crouch's attention, beginning to talk in quick, urgent tones.
Seeing that his message had been received and secure in the knowledge that Bagman at least would do everything to ensure proper precautions were taken, as he was scared of the repercussions that Sirius would call down on him if anything should happen, Sirius nodded shortly and swept out of the room.
The threat to their own power and wellbeing was his main piece of leverage with the various corrupt factions infesting the ministry, the large amounts of political and magical power the House of Black had at their disposal were impressive to say the least. There was a reason people had been so willing to believe that he was a mass murderer. The House of Black had been traditionally dark but the main reason they were so feared, even in the dark circles was their affinity for ambient magic.
It was linked strongly to their emotions, although when necessary a Black could call on the surrounding magic and shape it to their will, although this took a lot of concentration, opposed to when it responded to emotions almost of its own accord. When the magic was like this Sirius knew he could direct it to do anything he wanted with just a single word. It was that power that frightened both supporter and enemy alike and it was also the reason magic kept flaring whenever his anger grew past a certain level. He knew it was a formidable weapon, and one he hoped would be passed to Harry during the adoption. If his child could have a measure of control over the ambient magic he would be able to defend himself even if his wand was taken, and thought Sirius grimly as he passed through the portrait back into his quarters, Harry needed every advantage he could get.
AN Hope you enjoyed this, thank you for the continuing support, see you soon and please review!