Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.

With You by My Side

Chapter 50- Mad scramble in the air!

The three champions were assembled on the edge of the quidditch field along with what looked like the entire population of the British wizarding world in attendance. The bleachers were expanded to accommodate almost all the members of the ministries from France, Bulgaria, and the UK. Added to that there were numerous security personnel interspersed with the crowd. Though the chance for an outright attack by Lord Voldemort and his supporters was remote, Amelia was not in a mood to take any chances and so the same force that so effectively guarded the quidditch world cup arena was also deputed this time.

A lot the students had their parents in the crowd; since most of the ministry personnel were purebloods, their spouses were naturally invited too. This did not go well with the non-magical students and so Harry and Hogwarts intervened to eject those who invited themselves. Still, he could not object to the spouses being in the watchers; Harry could not object to students who were ecstatic to see their parents, he did not have the heart to do so. Hermione wanted to go the other way and invite the parents of the non-magical students but with the grave concern over the possibility of Lord Voldemort's attack, she relented. Harry did promise her that once the looming threat was removed, Hogwarts would have an open day and the necessary arrangements would be made to accommodate those who never set foot on the hallowed grounds of one of the oldest magical schools in the world.

The crowd was really getting into the thick of the things and the cheers began to reverberate across the grounds. Harry noticed that there were a lot more people than there were seats, he was unsure as to how that was possible, when he spotted a few familiar faces. They were the citizens of Hogsmeade coming to enjoy the games and Harry realized that the ministry personnel were trying to block their entry.

Harry detached himself from the other champions and proceeded towards the congregation. As he neared the crowd, he noticed that Shacklebolt was trying to play mediator between the representatives of the Hogsmeade crowd and the pink cardigan wearing Madam Dolores Umbridge, assistant to Bartemius Crouch Sr. who was the head of the department of international magical cooperation.

It was evident that the people of Hogsmeade were as adamant in taking part in the festivities as Umbridge was in denying them entry. "You have no right to watch the tournament, this is open only to the members of the ministries and not the general public. You will have to follow the action on the wireless just like the general public."

Harry had to privately admit that the witch was right, had to be some limit as to the number of spectators and since this was the first time, priority had to be given to the ministry officials and the parents of the students. On the other hand, the people of the little village were very welcoming to the foreign schools and went out of their way to accommodate their needs or even whims in some cases. The restaurants in the village now cater to a wide range of food preferences. If they were going out of their way to make the other schools welcome, Harry did not see why they could not be allowed to view the competition. He was going to take the general public' side as he was not very generous with Barty Crouch Sr. and Ludo Bagman at the moment. They were the ones who were adamant for upholding the traditions and did not allow a competitor to withdraw. Barty Crouch was even in deep trouble as he had to have a hand in his death eater son escaping prison.

"Come, come madam. I don't see why they should be denied the pleasure of watching the competition. They are after all a stone's throw away from the action," Harry butted into the conversation.

Madam Umbridge turned towards Harry with a fierce scowl on her face. She was not at all happy to have her authority questioned; the aurors were willing to allow entry provided none of them carried anything dangerous and now the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was clearly on their side. 'How dare they?' she ranted silently and was about to gather steam and tear into the boy.

While it was true that the tournament was a ministry sponsored event, they did not have the authority to invite anyone inside the grounds nor deny anyone entry. That privilege rested with the headmaster and with the Hogwarts castle itself; Harry could do it too but he was not very keen on advertising that fact. If the villagers were able to enter the grounds and approach the stands, it meant that the castle wards allowed them through. Only a few people knew this and if the castle had no objection to the villagers watching the task, who was he to object?

Harry saw the changing emotions on Madam Umbridge's face and was sure that she was ready for another rant. "Why don't we ask the headmaster?" he interjected and turned to the approaching wizard.

The headmaster was all that was jovial and after clearing the air with Harry and his family, Dumbledore felt as if a great burden was lifted from him and it showed in his general demeanor. Harry did notice that with the confrontational attitude gone, the headmaster was very pleasant to interact with. If the headmaster objected to the people of Hogsmeade being on the grounds, then Harry would retract his position. He was not about to start a petty argument with the aged wizard especially after Dumbledore went out of his way to change the tasks the champions were to face.

Flashback

A few days after Harry and Hermione's return to the castle, Sirius in his capacity as Harry's godfather, and Amelia and Augusta as ministry representatives confronted the headmaster in his office. Putting enormous pressure on him, the three members of Harry and Hermione's extended family finally got the details of the tasks from the headmaster.

"You do know that Harry is being targeted by Lord Voldemort and his death eaters, right?" asked an exasperated Sirius. "Do you want to make their task easy by putting him in mortal danger?"

"The tasks were designed to test their prowess and also to display to the public why they were chosen to represent their schools," Dumbledore answered. Seeing the concern still written on their faces, he ventured to ask, "Do you think that Lord Voldemort would cause trouble during the tasks?"

Concern turned to disbelief and Amelia growled, "Do you not know?"

Dumbledore was still perplexed about the topic and not really knowing what was wrong, he tried to deny any knowledge. He did not know that was not the right thing to say. Seeing that the husband and wife were getting more and more upset without any resolution of the problem at hand, Madam Longbottom silenced them all. She turned her frown towards the headmaster, "We have information that your good friend is not really the one teaching the children as the DADA professor."

Dumbledore was shocked and it clearly showed on his face, "How is that possible, I know Alastor Moody. How do you know for sure that he is not the one who he is claiming to be?"

Sirius launched into the explanation about how Harry and Hermione discovered the presence of Barty Crouch in the same room as that of the ex-auror. Moody was not known to be a fan of the disgraced former head of the DMLE and so it was not a stretch of imagination to look with suspicion the continued presence of the two in the same room. Also their theory of the man actually being the son rather than the father also helped Dumbledore understand the motive behind the subterfuge.

To further support their claims, Sirius activated the older version of their map and showed the presence of Barty Crouch in the DADA classroom while Moody was still in his quarters.

"Ah! The Marauder's map," the headmaster exclaimed distractedly while examining the map minutely.

"You know about this?" Sirius questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Dumbledore was still intent on divining the reason for Crouch's presence in the DADA classroom, from the map in front of him and so answered distractedly, "Yes, James Potter came to me at the end of his graduation ceremony and showed it to me. He warned me that witches or wizards can access the castle's wards," here Dumbledore faced the others in the room and chuckled, "He did not know that only the headmaster or a worthy heir can do that."

After a few minutes deep in thought, Dumbledore could not think of any other reason for the presence of Crouch in the DADA classroom. He had to be impersonating Moody and it had to Barty Crouch Jr.; it also explained the potions master's complaints about the loss of a few ingredients from his stores.

Running a tired hand over his eyes, the headmaster sighed deeply, "All the tasks were decided even before the names were drawn by the Goblet of Fire. It will be very difficult to change them."

Amelia scoffed at that, "When did that stop you from getting your way, Albus."

Dumbledore smiled genially at that but turned serious soon. He promised that he would get the tasks changed to something less risky but still be entertaining to the spectators. Thankfully, the only people who were involved in planning the tasks were the three headmasters, and Ludo Bagman the head of magical sports and games. Dumbledore was determined to carry out his point that Harry Potter was not meant to be in the tournament at all. He could see only Bagman as an obstacle as the other two would be delighted with any chance for their own champion to win.

Flashback End

Coming back to the present, Harry realized that Dumbledore heard his words and so was able to respond immediately, not giving a chance for Madam Umbridge to say anything. "I see no reason why the good people of the village cannot view the tasks, as long as the aurors ensure that they do not have anything dangerous on them…"

A cheer went up after that declaration and they began to move towards the assembled aurors totally ignoring the indignant woman. Dumbledore saw the opportunity to impart her some home truths, "Dear madam, I know that this is a ministry sponsored event and I also know that none of those coming to view the tasks were required to pay to attend."

Some of the villagers who were near the woman could not contain their smirks when they saw Madam Umbridge flush. Yes, the ministry was indeed taking on the cost of the tournament without any chance of getting their money back and Hogwarts was bearing the cost of arranging the accommodations for the visiting schools and dignitaries and also the seating for the spectators during the tasks. In a way, the Triwizard tournament was one big money guzzler and no one was sure where the money was coming from. Harry hoped that the pockets of the purebloods were drained sufficiently to bear the costs.

Umbridge was still trying her best not allow anyone and everyone to attend, there were ministry delegates in the crowd! Still her protests were completely ignored, even that clown Bagman was ecstatic that more and more spectators were able to watch and so waved the crowd on. Huffing in indignation, Umbridge flounced away with her nose high in the air, unsurprisingly, no one paid any attention to her antics.

Harry's attention was diverted due to the confrontation and so it was with a shock he realized that he was not nervous any longer. With only about half an hour to the start of the task, the contestants were called to the podium. Bagman took the center stage and relished the attention brought on him while introducing the three champions. The crowd was ecstatic too; this was an unprecedented event and was a historic occasion and so was keen on showing their appreciation to the contestants. It was no wonder that almost all of them were supporting the home hero, Harry Potter.

"Now the task is very simple," Bagman began explaining the task to the contestants and a hushed crowd. "This is a seeker challenge…" he had to wait for the roar of the assembled crowd to diminish before continuing, "Each contestant will have to capture one snitch for themselves, and they will have the help of these to do that…"

With that Mr. Bagman gestured to three Nimbus 2000 brooms lying a few feet away from the dais and on the edge of the field, "Brooms…" he shouted unnecessarily but was still greeted by much cheering. "Hippogriffs…" he gestured to the creatures to the left of the brooms. The cheers were a little muted this time but were still present. Continuing on, Bagman gestured to the left of the hippogriffs and called, "Thestrals…" to near total silence.

Many were staring wide eyed at the place where Bagman gestured but Harry noted that only a few were actually seeing the animals which were to the right of the brooms.

"Except for the brooms, the creatures that are not being used as mounts, will act as obstacles during this task. You may switch your mount during the task and many times if you need to," Bagman continued explaining the rules. "The creatures will not attack you, they will act only as obstacles and you are not to attack them too."

Calling the champions to attention, he addressed them seriously, "You may use magic to create diversions, obstacles or defenses but you may not attack either your opponents or the mounts. You may use magic against the other creatures that are not mounts, at your own risk." It will only be a very foolish one who would attack a hippogriff; the proud creatures are as dangerous as a dragon if enraged and good luck with finding an invisible winged horse.

After making sure that the champions and the audience understood what he said till now, Bagman moved on, "There is no time limit to the task and a contestant may capture more than one snitch…" that caught the Bulgarian champion's attention.

Many in the crowd were beginning to feel that Victor Krum had a distinct advantage in this task as he was a known professional seeker. Quite a few disgruntled mutterings broke out, especially as they could see that Harry's right arm was wrapped securely to his chest, preventing any movement. The Beauxbatons champion was an unknown quantity but she could not be worse than a one armed wizard on a broomstick.

"If you want to retire, you may land on this dais. If you do so you cannot re-enter the task. If you are injured, you may seek medical attention and then return to the task." The three champions agreed readily to that; the completion was not meant to cause serious injuries to the contestants and Harry was happy to note that there were two members of staff from the wizarding hospital besides Madam Pomfrey to attend to any injuries.

The crowd was getting impatient but it was more in anticipation rather than in anger. They were quieted again when Harry was heard to ask, "What will happen if any one of the champions could not get a snitch?"

Bagman beamed, "Glad you asked," he was giddy in anticipation. Though the initial challenges were much more dangerous and thrilling even, Bagman truly felt that the changes in the tasks were for the better. He shuddered to imagine what the reaction of the crowd would be if the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was injured or worse. 'No,' the head of magical games and sports decided, 'this was way better and was much more challenging.'

"Each snitch has the clue for the final task, and so it is imperative that each one of the contestants get a snitch. If you do not, you will still get your clue but you will have a demerit against you." The crowd cheered louder at that; this was turning out to be much more interesting than they could have imagined. It also meant that each task was connected in one way or the other and if a champion performed poorly in one task, that disadvantage would carry over all through the tournament. On the other hand, if any of the tasks was to benefit one contestant, he would have a huge advantage, like Mr. Krum in this one. The home supporters could only hope that Harry Potter does have some magic up his sleeve that can disadvantage the Bulgarian seeker.

Seeing that the three champions agreed to the rules, Bagman was now in a frenzy. This was historic, "Are you ready," he bellowed.

The crowd were as wild when they answered in return. "I was actually asking the champions," Bagman admitted sheepishly. That generated a few chuckles from the audience but the champions were too focused or too nervous to even respond.

So Bagman asked again, "Are you ready?" This time he toned down his exuberance and addressed the three champions directly. After getting their agreement, he turned towards the VIP box and began to say something but turned back to the champions and with a mischievous smile gave a parting shot, "Oh! Just beware, there may be surprises in the way…"

Leaving them a little apprehensive, Bagman gestured towards the Ministers of Magic from the three participating countries who were seated in the VIP box.

Augusta had the honour and so called out, "Mr. Potter please choose your mount."

Harry bowed in the general direction of the VIP box before moving towards the hippogriffs. He immediately recognized Buckbeak, the one who he had prior acquaintance with and so was very easily accepted by the noble animal. The crowd were bewildered by his choice for, though they had impressive speeds and maneuverability, hippogriffs were very temperamental. But then again, with one of his hands injured, it was probably for the best that he did not chose a broom.

While Harry was petting Buckbeak, the French minister called for Fleur to choose her mount which she did by picking up a brand new Nimbus 2000. Being a veela, Fleur knew that the hippogriffs would react badly to her presence. Even now they were not able to stand entirely calm; thankfully, either they were very well trained or the presence of Harry kept them calm enough and so did not attack her outright. Once in the air, she was sure that all bets were off. The thestrals were out of question as she was even unable to see them and so what was the point.

Victor Krum naturally chose a broom and the champions were ready. Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the quidditch pitch and with a signal from Ludo Bagman, took out three snitches and held up for the champions to see. The crowd began to cheer in earnest now and were as impatient for the competition to start as were the three competitors. The noise from the crowd was so loud that it drowned out the magically amplified voice of the announcer. The announcer from the Wizarding Wireless Network was not only broadcasting to the world, but his voice was also heard across the quidditch pitch and so instead of just sitting there, the spectators would hear his commentary too and would not miss even a bit of the action.

For Harry, the nerves were no longer there, only anticipation. He was so focused on the task ahead that he was quite startled when the cannon went off, signaling Madam Hooch to release the snitches. Two of the snitches darted away immediately while the third remained hovering in place where it was released.

When the snitch did not move from its place even after a few moments, the quidditch referee performed a few diagnostics spells but did not find anything wrong with it. Madam Hooch just shrugged her shoulder and gave the signal for the countdown to start and quickly raced away from the center of the pitch. She could not have moved faster for as soon as she moved, her place was taken by one of the remaining two hippogriffs. The other one made its way to the far end of the arena and was waiting for the competitors to be airborne.

Only Harry saw that the three thestrals were on a lazy circuit around the field. He hoped that the hippogriffs and thestrals were well trained to just prove an obstacle and not attack the champions. He was sure that the other two competitors would agree with him that an enraged hippogriff was as dangerous as a dragon. Harry did not know much about the skeletal horses but was sure that he would not want to tangle midair with a beast that was born to fly. The consequences would definitely be disastrous for him.

Half a minute after the hippogriffs and thestrals took to the field, a magical clock started the ten second countdown. At the end of the countdown, Harry was the only one left at the starting line as Fleur and Krum both rocketed out on their brooms. Fleur headed straight for the snitch that was still hovering at the same place where it was released. Krum on the other hand rocketed up into the sky and putting all his seeking experience, chose a spot that would most likely put him in line to get the snitch that would in time react to Fleur's presence.

Harry knew that he would be no match in terms of sheer speed and so took to keeping a slow circuit around the field in hopes of spotting a snitch. He could use his magic sensing ability to nail one for sure but he did not want to do that. Not only would it not be fair to the other champions, he just did not have that overwhelming urge to win; he did not even want to be a part of the tournament for crying out loud. No, Harry would take part but would try and see that either of the other two champions would win, he had bigger concerns instead. Like getting ready to face Lord Voldemort.

Krum who was about a hundred feet in the air had the right idea. He could see Fleur approaching the hovering snitch at a good clip and he also saw that she would have to do some daring maneuver not to crash into the hippogriff that was on the other side of the snitch. As soon as the Beauxbaton's champion slowed down in trepidation, the snitch darted out from her reach and began a steep climb.

Fortunately for Fleur, the hippogriff did nothing except to give a baleful glare towards the nervous witch who abandoned her pursuit and made sure to be as far away from the magical creature as possible.

Unfortunately for Krum, the snitch's climb took it away from him too and so he raced after it. Fleur also angled her broom upwards but seeing that the Bulgarian seeker was after her target in earnest pursuit, gave up. She knew that she was no match to the experience of Krum in chasing the snitch and decided that her time would be spent fruitfully in the search of another target.

Ten minutes into the chase, none of the contestants had any luck in grabbing a snitch. Krum spent most of that time streaking across the pitch in a mad dash after the snitch he targeted initially. However, it proved to be elusive and even his extensive skills could not tame the flittering ball.

Harry was thankful that he was on a hippogriff; Fleur was constantly conjuring items or summoning and banishing things in front of a flying Krum, trying to obstruct his path. She even charmed a few mounds of earth to act as bludgers. However, her attempts did not even slow Krum down, he was accustomed to flying in much worse conditions than what he was doing now. What he was facing were nothing more than irritating but they were more than what he had to face during the course of a game of quidditch and the sheer numbers forced him to slow down. Fleur's attempts finally did their job and Krum lost sight of the snitch and too came to a standstill.

Seeing that her efforts did indeed succeed in stopping Krum, Fleur cast her eyes around. 'There,' she though that she caught a glint of gold from the corner of her eye and turned around to see a snitch taking a lazy arc a few dozen feet in front of her. In an instant, she sped up and sensing her approach, the snitch also raced away.

Fleur kept her pursuit and began to slowly gain on the flying winged ball. She cast her eyes around to see that both Krum and Harry were far away which meant that she need not fear any trouble from the two. Satisfied, Fleur lent down on the broom urging it forward. She grinned to herself and imagined herself to be the first one to capture a snitch, even beating a world renowned seeker. Fleur stretched her hand out trying to snag the ball when she felt a sudden gust of wind blowing from above her.

Before Fleur could wrap her head around what was happening, she felt something smack her outstretched hand, hard. It was enough to throw her off course and Fleur had to struggle hard to get the broom under control. She thanked her stars that she was not sent into a hard tumble from which she may not have recovered so easily or at all. Fleur knew that she was decent on a broom and she would be the first to admit that her skill was not even on par with someone on a school quidditch team.

Regaining her balance, the Beauxbatons' champion saw a silhouette of a winged animal moving away from her. Fleur cursed her luck that she had to be the one to run into an invisible thestral. Sighing ruefully, the veela cast a diagnostic charm on her stinging hand. She quickly healed the bruising delivered by the thestral's wing and was relieved that it was not broken.

With her injury taken care of, Fleur returned her attention to scanning the sky but was disturbed by a squawk from one of the hippogriffs. Turning towards the direction of the cry, the witch was stunned into immobility by the sight that greeted her.

Harry spied a glint of reflected sunlight a little to his left and moving in the opposite direction to his. Coaxing the hippogriff to turn around, Harry spotted the snitch moving at a fair clip but not so fast that Harry could not reach it. While it was true that Buckbeak was not as fast as a Nimbus 2000, it still had a good enough top speed, and the snitch was not travelling too fast.

Urging the hippogriff he was riding, forward, Harry was so intent on catching the snitch that he was not even aware of what was going on around him. The cheering of the crowd was ignored, the efforts of Krum to try and dislodge him from his perch were dismissed as a minor irritant. What he could not ignore though was the sudden gout of intensely hot flames that was aimed at him from the ground below.

Harry was sure that his heart was lodged in his throat and suspected that it was the same for Buckbeak if the 'squawk' from the animal was any indication. With a rapid beat of his wings, the hippogriff put some much needed height and distance away from the flames and slowly Harry's heart rate decreased and he was able to get the agitated animal under control.

Looking down from his perch, Harry was shocked at the narrow escape he and his mount had. There on the ground was a full grown dragon looking at him with wary eyes. The rush of excitement gone, Harry could now hear the exclamations of the announcer, "… and what a narrow escape for the Hogwarts champion from getting fried by dragon flames."

The announcer began describing the dragon, not that he was able to identify the Chinese Fireball. Harry noticed that the dragon was firmly shackled by its hind feet to two posts dug into the ground. That did not stop the dragon from trying to get free and take to the air. The shackles were stretched to their limit under the power of the adult male but they held fast, not that it diminished any danger posed by the beast. Seeing that his efforts to take to the air were thwarted, the Chinese fireball unleased a massive fireball but thankfully Buckbeak was far enough that there was not even the need to dodge the flames. They just died half way but the intense heat made both the young man and the beast he was on to flinch and take evasive action.

The respite from the dragon's assault gave Harry the time to analyze the threat posed by the dragon. He was surprised that the massive beast was hidden so expertly for such a long time and that meant that the dragon was not only disillusioned but was under some heavy wards. That would also explain why the dragon fire was not felt before now, the wards were probably meant to suppress them. Nevertheless, the dragon was a clear and present danger to the three competitors.

Now that he was able to establish with reasonable confidence that the dragon was hidden under a powerful ward or wards, Harry decided to take the same route to suppress it again. However, it posed a major problem for him. If there was a trigger somewhere which was used to bring the ward down, it meant that the keystone was hidden somewhere near the edge of the field to allow someone to bring the wards down at the appropriate time. Harry could use the keystone to negate the trigger and bring the wards into action again. But searching for the keystone was like looking for a needle in a haystack. On the other hand, if the wards were under a timer, then they would be only useful for that one time and could never be raised again. It meant that Harry would have to construct a brand new ward scheme to contain the dragon, if he wanted to.

It was a laborious and a time consuming process and Harry was reluctant to take action. Besides, if he was to expend the energy and contain the dragon, his two opponents would take immediate advantage due to their faster brooms.

Harry's hand, however, was forced when he saw two of the snitches hiding behind the dragon's head. Whenever the beast moved, the winged balls also moved shadowing the dragon. To the watchers it looked like the dragon was actually guarding the golden snitches and two of them were taking full advantage. There was no way any of the champions could retrieve a snitch in such an instance, he had to neutralize the threat.

With that decision made, Harry tried to steer Buckbeak towards the edge of the quidditch pitch where he stashed a few blank ward stones on the off chance that he may need them. But the hippogriff had other ideas and refused to move in the direction Harry wanted to go.

Hippogriffs are very proud animals and Buckbeak was more so. In a way he was the prince of the herd of hippogriffs at Hogwarts being born to the leader and his mate. He could not let the challenge thrown by the Chinese fireball go, his position as the next leader would be seriously jeopardized if he turned tail and fled, so to speak.

With a cry that Harry guessed as one of indignation, the hippogriff began barreling towards the dragon, almost like an airplane on its bombing run. Harry could only watch in horror as all his efforts to redirect the hippogriff were ignored. He was not going to be on the front seat to watch the outcome though. Acting on pure instinct, Harry threw out his good hand and called the only broom that was still lying on the edge of the field and was unclaimed.

The Nimbus 2000 responded to Harry's call and began its flight straight at the terrified wizard. Buckbeak was losing height quite quickly and the flames from the dragon came close to burn him to a crisp more than once. It was only the self-preservation instincts of Buckbeak that saved both the mount and the rider. The hippogriff was undeterred though and even in the face of a superior opponent, was determined to cut the distance between them.

Seeing that the broom was approaching him but fearing that it would not reach him before Buckbeak entered the dragon's range, Harry took a leap of faith, literally.

Harry's hand slapped the hard wood of the broom handle and he hung on for dear life. It was not made easy by the way he was swinging almost like a monkey on a branch. He was surprised at the sight of the bristles of the broom, but now was not the time for him to worry about what was struck in the bristles; he had bigger problems. Straightening his hand, Harry brought himself to a standstill. Now he had another problem, with only one hand, there was no way that he was going to be able to get onto the broom. Hoping that it would work, Harry sent out a pulse of magic from his legs like a jet engine and was able to propel himself over the broom allowing him to finally straddle it.

Sighing in relief, Harry turned to the tableau that was unfolding in the middle of the quidditch pitch. Even Fleur and Krum abandoned their search and were gazing at the fight in awe, not that they could do anything else. As soon as the hippogriff engaged the dragon in a fight, the two snitches scattered leaving no telltale glint for anyone to follow. Buckbeak alone did not look to be a match to the dragon but now that the other two hippogriffs also joined in the fight, they were under a stalemate.

The hippogriffs had the advantage of flight and remarkable agility, keeping them out of the reach of the dragon's fire and tail. The dragon had his tail and fire, keeping the hippogriffs out of range for them to use their beaks and claws. Neither one was gaining an inch despite furious attempts to do so. It seemed as if the creatures were prepared for a long siege. Harry noticed that the gamekeepers hired for the task were ready to intervene if needed but they were also being held back by the tournament officials.

Harry thought about leaving the magical animals to fight among themselves and solve the deadlock one way or the other, but he could not do that in good conscience. He liked Buckbeak and besides, there was no natural reason for the dragon and the hippogriffs to be in the same place at the same time. It was because of the tournament that they were forced to be in this situation. He was not sure if the creatures would have fought if they came face to face in their natural habitat but then he realized that there was no way that a dragon and a hippogriff would have fought in the wild, for their natural habitats were not present in the same continent even.

The UK was the natural habitat for hippogriffs. Indeed there were very rare in other continents, maybe except for the Amazonian jungles. Dragons no longer existed on the isles, except for maybe a few in the far northern shores of Wales and Ireland. The fight that was going on in front of them was a man-made disaster and that meant those who were responsible would have to intervene. Harry need not have had to step in if the gamekeepers were to do their job but it seemed as if the apathetic attitude of the ministry of magic towards non-human magicals was shining through in this instance.

Harry was thankful that the magical animals were keeping the dragon busy and gave him enough time to complete his plan to contain it. Accioing the ward stones, Harry set to work. He was very much adapt at runes and inscribing them, but now, he found himself at a great disadvantage. Harry balanced the stone with its flat side up, hovering midair and began the tedious work of inscribing the runes needed to form a barrier. The runes were simple as would the barrier be; it would not allow the dragon's flames to cross the barrier for as long as magic was around the place but it could still be brought down if the ward stones were destroyed. It would be very easy for the dragon to aim for the stones as they were unprotected but Harry hoped that what he was trying to do would be good enough to hold the barrier till the end of the task.

The Hogwarts' champion concentrated a bit of magic in the tip of his left hand index finger to use as a stylus for etching the rune. It was an age old method and worked better than the modern gold tipped rune etching stylus, but using his off hand and hanging midair was not very conducive to make good ward stones. Not for the first time he wished that he could take Hermione's help in drawing the runes, but that was a wish which would be unfulfilled for the time.

It took great effort and time but Harry finally thought that he had a good enough scheme etched out on the stones. Dropping the stones at roughly the four corners of a square, Harry hoped that they were far enough not to be easily destroyed by the dragon but near enough that the magic would hold until the end of the task.

Praying for some luck, Harry activated the keystone and was instantly disappointed. He could not sense any change in the magic around him indicating that the barrier ward was unsuccessful. The dragon sensed that Harry was doing something and tried to shoot him down with his flames. More than once, he came closer to be fried but Buckbeak or one of the other hippogriffs would cry out and Harry considered it as a warning to dodge. More than anything else, that convinced Harry that containing the dragon was imperative if he and the other champions were to complete the task.

He could see that magic was flowing from the keystone into the stones on either side of the keystone but not any further. Harry removed the fourth stone that obviously had a problem with the rune he drew on that and moved the other two stones to form an equilateral triangle with the keystone at its apex. Making a few changes to the positions of the two stones Harry was satisfied that the barrier would be up and working now.

Calling Buckbeak out of the triangle formed by the ward stones, Harry activated the keystone and heaved a sigh of relief as the barrier was now visible as a faint shimmering. The triangle now formed a crude pyramid closing the space above the dragon too ensuring that even if anyone was to fly above the dragon, the barrier would protect them. The dragon was enraged now and tried his best to try and reach the barrier but was unable to as he was securely tethered and so could not fly away. His tail also could not break the barrier and his flames were ineffective. Finally, he huffed in annoyance and decided to lay down and rest, allowing the champions to sigh in relief.

The crowd was perplexed; most of the spectators knew what Harry did was not really unique. Barrier wards were very common and the idea to use that to stop flames was also not new. It was very much evident that Harry executed it perfectly but it was boring to watch the process. They would have loved to watch one of the champions weaving through the flames and try and catch the snitch; now that would have been thrilling! The announcer reminded the audience that fighting a dragon was not the task but to capture a snitch was and Harry managed to neutralize a major obstacle.

The grumbles from the spectators quickly changed to excited cheers as they spotted Fleur Delacour holding up her hand with a snitch in it.

Fleur was just happy that she found one; she had no illusions of greatness or trying to get more than one. Fleur landed on the dais and took herself out of the task leaving Harry and Krum to fight for the remaining two snitches.

The fight began soon, Krum was high up in the air, higher than Harry was. Seeker instincts calling out to him, Krum was the first one to spot it and dove down. The steep dive showed Harry where the snitch was and he too started a steep dive. Krum had the advantage of speed due to him being higher and the momentum combined with gravity allowed him to pull beside Harry with ease, just as Harry himself achieved his top speed on the broom.

Racing down neck and neck, both the champions were focused on the snitch and did not even try to oppose the other one. It became a contest of sheer skill and Krum was the acknowledged expert in that, but Harry proved to be no slouch either.

'Does the snitch have a modicum of intelligence?' Harry thought idly as he saw the winged ball change direction. It came out of the steep dive it was taking and was travelling parallel to the ground now. Harry also pulled out of the dive and though he did not know the name of the maneuver, executed a Wronski feint, perfectly shadowing Krum. Harry's experience in flying was only the school lessons during their first year, but now, the exhilaration of the chase and the cheers of the crowd propelled him forward like never before and he felt as if he was a natural on broom. The watchers were certainly convinced; even Professor McGonagall was lamenting the loss of an excellent seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team, not that she would voice the opinion.

While coming out of the dive, Krum noticed that he came on the outside of the snitch's path while Harry was much closer in terms of the line of flight they took. The snitch was tantalizingly close but still out of reach to either of them. However, if they continued in their present path, Harry would be the one to catch it. Both of them were on similar brooms and any experience Krum had was counteracted by the differences in their sizes. Harry was leaner and smaller than Krum and moreover, the Bulgarian seeker realized that the Hogwarts' champion was able to pull out a spectacular dive his first time and without any playing experience. He began to feel that this first time player was going to hand him a defeat and Krum did not like that.

The rules forbid the contestants to aim their spells at each other or at their mounts, but not to obstruct their flight. Krum also knew that the injury to Harry's right hand meant that Harry would be totally unable to defend himself and that was what the Durmstrang champion was going to rely on.

Both the fliers were a mere two feet above the ground and racing after the snitch. Krum waited for the opportune moment. Harry was prone on the broom, relying on his ability to control the magic in the air to control the flight of the broom, and was beginning to stretch his arm. The snitch was a mere inches away from his hand.

It was at that moment Krum acted. Taking out his wand, Krum shot an overpowered bludgeoning spell onto the ground right in front of Harry, kicking up a good chunk of earth right into the Hogwarts champion's path.

With his hand stretched out in front of him, Harry had no way to maneuver the broom. Second, even if he managed to grip the broom, it was travelling too fast for him to stop or avoid getting hit by the debris in front of him. Third, if he was able to successfully maneuver the broom and avoid getting hit too, he would lose his advantage he had, leaving Victor Krum to emerge victorious. Harry did not like any of the options before him and so he decided on 'none of the above'.

Using a pulse of magic from his feet again, Harry propelled himself forward from the broom and vaulted over the mound of earth. He knew that it was the right thing to do for as soon as he was over the chunk of earth, his broom crashed into it. The crowd realized that if the crash did not unseat Harry, then the solid earth would have hit him. Either of the scenario would have resulted in Harry falling down from the broom and getting injured, and at the speed he was going, perhaps badly.

Even then the airborne Harry would end up hitting the ground, but at least now he had full control of his crash landing. At the apex of his flight, Harry flipped midair and landed with a bone jarring thud on his back. As soon as he landed he began to choke and the crowd grew silent in concern.

"… It seems Mr. Potter is going to be sick," the announcer exclaimed as Harry began to clutch at his stomach. What he was trying to do was the Heimlich maneuver on himself, a difficult feat to be certain.

Growing concerned, the announcer continued, "… Is he going to be sick right in the middle of the pitch?"

There were a few groans in the crowd but that changed to thunderous applause as Harry spit out the snitch that was caught in his throat. Sometime during his lunge and flip, Harry missed the snitch but the winged ball had other ideas. Maybe it was planned by the snitch or it was a mere coincidence, whatever the reason, Harry held the snitch he caught aloft. He was still trying to get his breathing under control and so could not wave to the crowd or to acknowledge the applause but his beaming smile told stories.

His celebration was interrupted as the announcer reminded everyone, "The task is not complete yet folks, there is one more snitch out there and Victor Krum is the one without a snitch in his hand. Let the chase begin…"

The crowd roared their approval, and Krum cursing his luck began a slow winding ascent intent on spotting the wayward snitch. Harry did not move though, instead, he dipped his hand into his charmed pocket and brought out another snitch and the crowd went wild.

While the gamekeepers were herding the thestrals, hippogriffs, and the dragon away, Bagman rushed down from the VIP box and called the champions onto the dais. "A big hand to our champions for an excellent exhibition of magic…" the spectators clapped enthusiastically as Harry and Fleur took a bow while a disgruntled Krum merely dipped his head.

The head of magical games and sports was undeterred though, "Miss Delacour completed her task without any demerit, please give her a big hand for being the first to finish…" The beauxbatons contingent led the cheers and the friends that Fleur made after coming to Hogwarts supported enthusiastically.

"Mr. Potter not only achieved his target but also got an extra snitch. He is the winner of this task and gets a head start for the final task…" not only the Hogwarts students but the citizens of Hogsmeade also lent their voice in support of the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. Harry was not shy in receiving the praise, he worked hard for the win and felt as if he actually deserved the praise unlike all those times when he had to endure the fawning as the one who defeated the dark lord Voldemort. The applause continued long and hard and Harry obliged them by raising the snitches and bowed to each and every corner of the stands.

Finally Bagman managed to bring the crowd under control. "Well, as you have all guessed, Mr. Victor Krum put up a brave performance but was unable to snatch a snitch. Please give him a big hand for his superior skills of flying and the magical performance he put on for us."

The crowd obliged. Many were fans of the Bulgarian seeker and he was indeed superior in the air. Moving effortlessly and dodging obstacles or Fleur's attempts to throw him off the broom, Krum was indeed the best on a broom. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

"Mr. Krum gets a demerit which he will have to face in the next task." Thankfully there was no jeering from the crowd. Instead there were a few voices of encouragement finally prompting Krum to relax his scowl and acknowledge the crowd's support.

Bagman continued, "As I said at the start, every snitch contains a clue for the final task and as Mr. Krum failed to get one…" he addressed Harry and gestured towards Krum, "Mr. Potter would you please…"

With a friendly smile, Harry extended his palm with the two snitches in them. Krum was not impressed though, he was humiliated by someone who apparently was playing the part of a seeker for the first time. Losing to such a wizard did not sit well with the champion seeker. With an audible snarl, he snatched a snitch and stomped away from the dais towards the Slytherin team's changing rooms.

Bagman was stunned speechless; he did not know what to do or what to say. The announcer for the Wizarding Wireless Network was already there on the dais with his microphone and was acting the part of a compere and was also broadcasting whatever Bagman was saying. Thankfully, the man was used to such situations and immediately took charge of the tense moment.

"Miss Delacour," the announcer addressed the Beauxbatons champion and the crowd turned eagerly to the scene intent on hearing every word. Krum's temper tantrum was momentarily forgotten. "No one saw you catching the snitch, can you please tell us how that happened?"

Fleur flashed a grin which had some of the male students near swooning much to the amusement of the others. "As soon as Harry erected the barrier around the dragon, I saw that there was a snitch hovering beside me, just within arm's reach…"

She was interrupted by shouts of incredulity from the crowd. The announcer took the moment to voice his own amazement, "Really?" he asked.

Fleur, herself felt that it is was unbelievable, even though it happened to her and so did not mind the reaction, "Yes," she replied before a mischievous smile made itself known, "… I think having seen the battle between the dragon and the hippogriffs and the way that Harry contained it, the snitch did not want to take any chances against the great Harry Potter..."

Raucous laughter greeted her quip and the announcer finished it for her, "… and so the snitch sought refuge with you."

More cheers and chuckles followed after that. The crowd was once again on their feet when the announcer turned to Harry. He had to wait a good minute for the crowd to calm down for him to ask the burning question, "We all saw the amazing catch…" he was again interrupted by laughter and with a smile in his voice, the announcer continued, "… but how did you get the other one?"

Harry laughed, "Would you believe me if I told you that I was the first one to get a snitch, even before Fleur here?"

While it was a rhetorical question, Hermione's shout of "Yes!" was clearly heard over the cheers.

Harry grinned and waved the snitch at his betrothed, "It's the truth though," he explained, "When I summoned the broom, I saw that one of the wings of the snitch was trapped by the bristles and as soon as I mounted the broom, I was able to pluck it."

"… and we were so fascinated by the fight between the magical creatures that we did not see it," the announcer acknowledged.

He looked at Bagman who took his cue and whipped the crowd to a frenzy again while congratulating the champions and bidding them good luck on the next task.

"Well," the announcer brought the proceedings to a halt, "You've heard all about the first task here on the WWN folks, please remember to tune in for the second task. Until then, this is Thomas Jordan signing off."