Chapter 37
It was the day of the first task. Eric was a puddle of anxiety as he waited inside the tent with the other champions. He could hear cheering outside in the arena.
"Dragons, dragons," he muttered.
"Eric, you need to calm down," Cedric said.
"Yeah," Eric said, nodding. "I-I think I'm feeling a little lightheaded."
"Honestly Potter, we leave you for one second and you're a mess," Harry said, abruptly coming out of nowhere.
Hermione followed him into the tent.
"What?" Eric asked, blinking in bewilderment.
"I'm just teasing you; trying to lighten the mood a little," Harry said. "Here, drink this; it's a Calming Draught. It'll calm you down before you hyperventilate."
Harry held out a small vial.
"A-are you sure? Wouldn't this count as cheating?" Eric asked nervously.
"It isn't against the rules. Plus, you look like you're about to have a panic attack." Viktor said in a thick Bulgarian accent. "Drink the potion, Eric."
"I agree," Fleur said in a French accent. "We are all nervous, but if you continue like this, you will pass out and automatically get zero points for the first task."
Eric nodded and drank the potion in one go. He immediately relaxed and sighed in relief.
"Thanks, Harry," he said. "I really appreciate it."
"You'll be fine, Eric. You're good at defense," Hermione said.
She hugged him. There was a sudden flash of light. Everyone jumped slightly and turned to see Rita Skeeter.
"Ah, I can put this as...young love perhaps?" the news reporter said, smiling deviously.
She pointed to the enchanted quill and notepad hovering behind her.
"Put this as...disturbing...no maybe scandalous is more appropriate," Rita said. "If anything should be...unlucky for you, Mr. Potter, at least with this, you can make the front page. How does that sound?"
Viktor clenched his fists, looking annoyed.
"You have no business being here." he said. "This tent is for champions and friends."
Rita looked at him and smiling, playing with her fingers.
"No matter," she replied. "I got what I wanted."
The quill flicked Viktor's cheek. He slapped it away. There was another flash as the cameraman took another picture as Rita walked away. Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, Filch, and Barty Crouch Sr entered the tent.
"Good day, champions," Dumbledore said. "Gather around, all of you."
The four champions moved closer. Hermione and Harry moved to the side to avoid getting trampled.
"The moment has arrived, the moment only the four of you can appreciate," Dumbledore said, looking at Hermione and Harry.
He did a double take in surprise.
"Don't mind us; we're just checking on Eric," Harry said, smiling innocently. "He was having a panic attack.
"Ah, well...thank you for your concern," Dumbledore said. "Please join the others in the stands."
Hermione and Harry waved goodbye as they left the tent.
"Barty, the bag," Dumbledore said.
Crouch Sr came forward with a sack.
"Champions, in a circle around me," Crouch Sr said, gesturing with his free hand.
The four champions did as he said. Crouch Sr arranged them to his liking.
"Now then, Miss Delacour," Crouch Sr said, holding out the bag. "If you will."
Steam rose out of the bag. Fleur reached into the bag and withdrew quickly, holding a small green dragon. Fleur looked up nervously to Madame Maxine.
"The Welsh Green," Crouch Sr said. "Next, Mr. Krum."
Viktor reached into the bag and pulled out a second small dragon that was hissing.
"The Chinese Fireball," Crouch Sr said.
He moved to Cedric.
"Mr. Diggory," he said.
Cedric reached into the bag and pulled out a dragon, the small being flapping its wings.
"The Swedish Shortsnout," Crouch Sr said. "And finally, Mr. Potter."
Eric swallowed nervously as he reached into the bag. He pulled out a dragon with spikes. It was hissing furiously.
"The Hungarian Horntail," Crouch Sr said.
The black dragon snapped at him, growling. It had bronze horns with glowing yellow feline-like eyes. Its tail was particularly menacing, with lethal spikes of varying length. Eric had no doubt the real dragon would look even more terrifying.
"These represent four very real dragons," Crouch Sr said, looking at them all. "Each of them has been given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple: collect the egg. Each egg contains a clue for the second task. If you don't collect the egg, you cannot proceed to the second task. Any questions?"
Everyone was silent.
"Very well," Dumbledore said. "I wish you luck, champions. Mr. Diggory, you are first."
Finally, it was Eric's turn. He gulped as he left the tent. The potion Harry had given him had worked wonders. It stopped him from having a panic attack, but he still felt nervous.
Eric stepped out into the arena when his name was announced. There were cheers of his name and then it went silent in anticipation. Eric looked around for the Horntail. Up ahead, he could see a small nest made from rocks. And within the nest of rocks, he could see the golden egg he was supposed to get. But the Horntail was nowhere to be seen.
Eric took a few steps out of the cave only to be attacked by the Horntail. The Horntail had been intimidating in its smaller form, but it was rather terrifying in its true form. Eric rolled away from the Horntail's claws. The Horntail growled angrily and sent a blast of fire towards Eric.
Eric leapt out of the way, barely missing being burnt alive. The crowd winced but leaned in, eager to see more action. Eric gripped his wand and crawled up the rocks he had landed on. The Horntail roared as it flew over. Its foot slammed down where Eric had been if he hadn't rolled out of the way in time. Everyone inhaled sharply in fear as the Horntail managed to hit Eric, sending him flying back. Eric landed in gravel.
Eric groaned. His body ached all over. The Horntail landed over the golden egg, roaring protectively. Eric stood up and ran for cover just as the Horntail released another burst of flames. Eric ducked behind a rock. He looked at his wand and thought of something happy. He stood up quickly a second later.
"Expecto Patronum!" he exclaimed, pointing his wand at the far end of the arena.
A silver stag burst from his wand and pranced away. The Horntail immediately zeroed in and leapt after the stag. Eric quickly casted a Notice-Me-Not charm on himself and ran towards the egg. He knew it would only work temporarily. He reached the rock nest and grabbed the egg. He cradled it close to his chest to make sure he didn't drop it. The Patronus disappeared as Eric ran back to the entrance. The Horntail saw him and roared angrily, charging at him. Despite the Notice-Me-Not charm, the dragon could still smell him.
Eric dodged a swipe of the Horntail's tail and ducked as the Horntail made to attack him with its jaw. He ran into the cave and a signal was called.
"Eric Potter, safe!" he heard Dumbledore announce.
There were loud cheers as the dragon keepers quickly subdued the angry Horntail. Eric sagged in relief, still clutching the egg close to him. He went into the tent where the other three champions were.
"Well done, Eric," Cedric said, smiling.
"That was unique, using a Patronus to distract the dragon. The Patronus is a very difficult spell to master too," Viktor said.
"My parents taught me it in case I ever needed it," Eric said. "But I'm glad that's over."
"Yeah," Cedric agreed.
Dumbledore and the other two schoolmasters as well as Crouch Sr entered the tent.
"Well done, all four of you," Dumbledore said. "You have all passed the first task and will be proceeding to the second task. Barty?"
"Yes," Crouch Sr said. "As of right now, Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter are tied for first place with Mr. Diggory in second place and Miss Delacour in third place. For the second task, the golden eggs you've collected hold the clue for the second task. You have until February to figure out what the clue is."
"Now then, in one month on Yule Day, the Yule Ball will be held," Dumbledore put in. "As the champions for the three schools, you are expected to participate in the ball."
The schoolmasters and Crouch Sr left soon after that.
"What do the eggs do anyways?" Fleur asked.
"Let's open one," Cedric said.
Cedric opened his egg and a horrible loud screeching noise filled the air. The other three covered their ears as best as they could while still keeping hold of their own eggs. Cedric closed his egg quickly, wincing in pain.
"What was that?!" Fleur exclaimed. "What a horrid noise!"
"In order to get the clue, we'll have to figure out what that screeching noise is first," Viktor said, grimacing.
"We have until February though. I'm going to focus on the Yule Ball first," Eric said. "We all need dates for the ball."
The other three agreed, not looking too happy.
"Eric!" Hermione shouted, lunging at her friend.
Eric hugged her back.
"I'm fine, Hermione, really. I just came from the infirmary. Madame Pomphrey made sure I didn't have any injuries," Eric said.
"Eric," Lily said from behind him.
Eric turned to look at his parents, Sirius, and Remus.
"I'm glad you're okay, but that first task almost gave me a heart attack," Lily said. "You have two more tasks, so don't do anything reckless."
"Do you need help getting a date?" Sirius asked, grinning mischievously.
"No," Eric said, rolling his eyes.
"Ask someone soon or it'll be too late," James said.
"Do I have to go to the ball? It sounds stupid," Eric grumbled.
"It's a tradition in the Triwizard Tournament," Remus said. "You don't have a lot of time, Eric; be sure to ask someone soon."
"All right," Eric said reluctantly.
The four left. Eric turned to his friends.
"Hmm...does that mean we have to ask someone to the ball as well?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Hermione said.
Harry pouted.
"But I don't really know anyone," he said.
"Hermione, can you go with me?" Eric asked hopefully.
"Sorry, I'm going with Alex," Hermione said. "He asked me during the first task. We're going as friends."
Eric grumbled before perking up.
"What about Ginny?" he asked.
"She's going with Neville, I think," Ron said.
"Maybe I should ask Padma," Harry mumbled. "But she's probably going with Terry."
Harry held up a finger, grinning in triumph.
"I know who I'm going to go with. If you will excuse me, I have to go somewhere," he said.
Before anyone could ask him anything, Harry was already gone.
"Strange, I would've thought he would go with Hedwig," Ron said.
"Perhaps he still will," Alex muttered.
"Alex, you should be nicer to your brother," Hermione chided.
"Remind me why I decided to ask you to the ball again?" Alex sighed tiredly.
"Because I'm one of your only friends and one of the only people you actually talk to," Hermione said. "Ron, Eric, find someone quickly. Alex and I will be in the library if you need anything. Good luck finding the second clue."
Alex and Hermione left.
"So, who'd you ask?" Alex asked, sitting next to his twin.
Harry looked at him before gesturing to the girl sitting next to him.
"Alex, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is my older twin brother, Alex," Harry introduced.
"Hello Alex," Luna said in a dreamy voice. "It is very nice to meet you."
"I wasn't aware you had befriended a third person in Ravenclaw," Alex said.
"Met her last year," Harry said, sipping some pumpkin juice. "She's interesting and she's not too nosy. She's nice enough too."
"Harry is a very lonely person, as am I. I thought he would benefit from my company sometimes," Luna said. "I wasn't planning to go to the Yule Ball, so I was pleasantly surprised when Harry asked me to come with him."
Luna looked at them both.
"Oh my, you two really are identical...but with different eye colors, just like what I've heard," she said.
Luna looked into Alex's eyes.
"Your eye color is like ice. Some would say it is sky blue, but it is lighter than that...yet it holds darkness within them. Hard like ice, I'm sure you've heard that many times," she said.
Alex narrowed his eyes at her. Luna looked at Harry.
"And your eyes...some may say they are emerald green or perhaps a lighter shade of forest green...but that shade of green is not natural. I would say they are...almost the color of the killing curse," she said. "But at the same time...not quite that color...it holds something darker. I can't quite figure it out yet."
Luna hummed thoughtfully as she held up her magazine. Alex absentmindedly noted it was upside down. He leaned in towards Harry.
"What's the deal with her?" he hissed.
Harry smiled slightly.
"I have reason to believe she is a descendant of a seer," he whispered. "Interesting, yes?"
Alex leaned back, not saying anything. The twins finished eating and stood up.
"See you later, Luna," Harry said.
"Goodbye Harry. It was nice meeting you, Alex," Luna said, smiling dreamily.
The twins walked out of the hall.
"Alex! Harry!" they heard Hermione call from behind.
The twins stopped to let the trio catch up to them.
"Have you asked anyone, Eric?" Harry asked.
Eric grumbled, shaking his head.
"You best hurry," Harry said. "The ball will be here before you know it."
"If absolutely necessary, I can go with you." Hermione said. "But I also want to make Alex dance; it'll be fun to watch."
"Are you secretly a sadist by any chance?" Alex asked dryly.
"Nothing of the sort," Hermione said, chuckling. "I just think it'll be fun to see you do something out of your comfort zone."
"I know perfectly well how to dance," Alex said stiffly.
Harry snorted.
"No, you don't, not very well, at least," he muttered.
"And you do?" Alex glared at his twin.
"Yep! Taught myself," Harry said, laughing at his twin. "You should know since you were there!"
Alex's glare intensified.
"All right, calm down both of you," Hermione said, chuckling still.
"Harry, can you help me figure out the second clue?" Eric asked, holding up the egg.
"What did you hear?" Harry asked.
"Nothing! Just a screeching sound," Eric exclaimed.
Harry flicked his wand, putting up a silencing spell around them.
"Open it," he said.
"All right, but brace yourselves guys; it's really loud and screechy," Eric said, wincing just at the thought of the sound.
Eric opened the egg and the screeching sound filled the bubble around them. After a few seconds, he closed it. Everyone sighed in relief. Harry, although relieved the sound was gone, looked thoughtful as well.
"It sounds familiar," he said.
Harry snapped his fingers.
"Now I remember where I've heard it before," he said, his eyes glowing.
"What is it?!" Eric asked eagerly.
Harry tutted.
"You'll have to figure that out yourself," he said. "I can, however, give you a hint."
Eric grumbled but motioned for Harry to continue.
"Listen to it under the water." Harry said.
"Under water?" Ron asked.
"So the clue has something to do with water," Hermione said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin.
"Correct, Hermione. But that's the only thing I will say," Harry said. "Good luck~"
