...GOoHS...
Chapter 12
A Small Triumph, At The Very Least
It was over much quicker than Harry had anticipated. He still couldn't believe it even as he guided his firebolt away from the enraged Horntail and nearer to the stands that held the cheering audience.
"He's done it, folks! Merlin's beard! Our youngest champion was the fastest out of all our champions! We've got quite the underdog in our midst, ladies and gentlemen!" Ludo Bagman announced jovially.
Harry was still shaking as he tried to control his broom, which was quite a difficult task to do with his left shoulder mangled and his right arm clutching the golden egg almost as protectively as the Horntail. The mangled shoulder was his fault for misjudging the direction he took when he made an attempt to grab the egg earlier. He couldn't cast Protego in time and the dragon's spiked tail grazed him.
Funnily enough, his father's promises of protection held true for his firebolt. The dragon did try but his broom remained unscratched; Harry couldn't say the same for himself. He could vaguely hear the loud cheers from the blurry faces of the audience below him as he zipped past as well as the enraged roars of the Horntail from the other side of the enclosure.
As Harry placed as much distance as he could between himself and the dragon, he spotted Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid beckoning him over to them and he was all too relieved to comply. It was really, truly over. He had the golden egg. He had completed the first task.
"WATCH OUT!"
Harry's relief shattered when his head whipped around and was met with the sight of the Horntail breaking free from its chains. Its mouth was opening, ready to breathe fire in his direction.
Harry immediately dived down and did a roll to avoid the dragon's breath. He was very much thankful for the protective charms he had done on himself as well as the charms on his broom as the fire nearly swallowed him. Again, Harry's broom was left unscathed whereas his clothes and hair had definitely been singed. He was really beginning to envy the damn broom.
With the last of his strength leaving his arm, he lost control of his firebolt and fell to the rocky ground of the enclosure. He heard the crowd in the stands above hiss and scream when he hit the ground.
"Oh, damn it all to hell! Where are the dragon keepers?!" yelled Bagman from the stands. "Restrain the bloody dragon!"
Harry rolled over to his knees, got up without wasting any time, and started sprinting to the nearest boulder for cover but he could already tell from the sound behind him that the dragon was already releasing its second wind of fires. Running on pure instinct, Harry threw his broom aside and raised his wand, not minding the pain it caused his shoulder to do so, and yelled, "Protego!"
His shield went up in time and the dragon's fiery breath began its heavy assault not a second later. Harry screamed at the immense pressure at the barrage of fires that attacked his shield. This was a far cry from what he had practiced on yesterday with Hermione and Lucas. It also didn't help that he wasn't using his wand hand as it was currently holding the golden egg protectively and he had instead used his left hand with his injured shoulder.
"Merlin's beard! Is that…? Harry Potter's holding his own! What an impressive display of mastery of the Shielding Charm!" announced Bagman. For some reason, he had started commentating the events as if it was part of the tournament. "He keeps surprising us at every—oh good heavens, someone call the bloody dragon keepers!"
The dragon started advancing slowly towards Harry, still breathing fire. Harry focused on backing up towards the boulder he had been running to; it wasn't that far now. As he stepped behind the large rock, his shield began to falter. The fire got to his right arm before he could turn away and he felt the charms he cast on himself protest feebly before shattering.
His right arm was up in flames in mere seconds and Harry howled from the pain. The egg he had been clutching fell with a dull thud next to him. He felt someone run up to him and extinguish the flames with some water but the damage had already been done. Harry smelt the horrible burning flesh once the smoke dissipated and he threw up.
"Hagrid! Hagrid, quickly! Carry him to Poppy!"
Harry recognized it as McGonagall's voice. She had been the one who helped him. He then heard Moody's recognizable clanking as he shouted a spell that he couldn't identify at what Harry assumed to be the dragon. There were also distant yells and more roaring as the dragon keepers and Ministry Aurors worked together to subdue the enraged Horntail.
Hagrid was gentle when he lifted Harry from the ground but he damn near broke his neck when he sprinted towards Madame Pomfrey's medical tent. McGonagall had to stammer out warnings to him as she raced behind him.
"Oh, my word!" the Hogwarts nurse exclaimed when she saw Harry's state. "Lay him here, Hagrid."
"By Godric's name, this boy has the worst luck," Professor McGonagall said as she hovered worriedly near Harry's bed. "All he had left to do was to come to us but the dragon broke free."
Madame Pomfrey tutted as she examined Harry. "Bad burn… this will need time to heal, unlike his shoulder. I can fix this in an instant."
As she set to work, several people suddenly flooded inside the tent. Lily and James were at the head of the group that entered and they immediately made a beeline towards Harry's bed. Lucas, Ron, and Hermione followed behind them closely.
"How is he?" Lily cried as she rushed forward. McGonagall was quick to catch her before she could get in Madame Pomfrey's way.
"Poppy will mend him in a heartbeat, just as she always has. You needn't worry, Lily," she comforted her former student. "You too, Mr. Potter."
James, although still very pale and shaky, managed to say, "Minnie, come on… we're closer than that."
McGonagall's lips spread into a thin line, obviously displeased at James' attempt at humor. Though she couldn't really blame him. Harry Potter was both very unlucky and lucky at the same time. Unlucky that the dragon he had faced broke free before he could leave the enclosure and lucky in the way that he managed to get away with wounds that Madame Pomfrey could easily heal. She couldn't imagine what his parents must be feeling and poor James was probably still in shock, which was why she bit back her retort.
While Madame Pomfrey busied herself with the nasty burn on Harry's right arm, having already closed up the wounds on his shoulder, Lily pushed away McGonagall's arm and attached herself on Harry's side. The professor just sighed and knew nothing she could say would dissuade her at this point so she left to inform the headmaster of Harry's state.
"The world's gone mad, I tell you. Last year it was dementors at the school, now it's dragons!" Madame Pomfrey ranted, summoning a salve into her outstretched palm while her other hand held her wand steadily over the nasty burn on Harry's arm. Lily looked away at the sight of it. "I shudder to think what they would set loose on these children next!"
James agreed with her. He felt rage course through him at the thought of more dangerous things headed in his son's way. If he and Lily had their way, Harry wouldn't even had been declared champion before the Halloween night ended. He had been so frightened, scared out of his wits, when Harry walked out into the enclosure. If dragons were the tip of the metaphorical iceberg, then what could possibly come next? They had prepared Harry to the best of his abilities but it hadn't been enough. He had still been injured and badly burned.
"Will the burns leave a mark, Madame Pomfrey?" Lily asked tearfully. She watched the older woman apply salves and spells on her son's arm and while it did its job, the arm still looked far from being healed.
"No, it will be the same as it was. It will take time to heal completely though. The burnt skin will need time to regrow and replenish. A few drops of dittany applied daily should do the trick." The Hogwarts nurse replied. She had removed most of the burnt skin and tissue as well as the pieces of Harry's clothes that had stuck and melded into his burns. Harry's arm was now littered with exposed muscle and raw, red skin.
Madame Pomfrey took out a bottle of Essence of Dittany and started dripping a few drops over the mangled arm. The skin around the patches grew almost instantly but it still looked very raw. Harry twitched when he felt the first few drops but then he quickly started to shake wildly because of the pain.
Lily tried to soothe him while James and Lucas helped to hold him down as Madame Pomfrey did the last few drops on the wounds near his hand. Lucas looked away as the wounds started smoking and the medicine started working its magic. His stomach turned at the sight of Harry's arm just minutes before and he couldn't bear to look on any longer than he had to.
After the smoke dissipated, Madame Pomfrey started wrapping Harry's arm up in bandages. She worked quickly but carefully, only stopping once to give Harry a dose of painkilling potion. Once she was done with the bandages and the sling she had put Harry's arm in, she left the Potters and went to find someone to report about Harry's condition.
"Does it hurt a lot? I can give you a bit more of painkilling potion," Lily said as she ran her fingers through Harry's messy hair.
Harry shook his head and mumbled, "No… I'm alright. My right arm's numb…"
James gripped his left hand tightly. "You scared us half to death, mate. Almost gave your mother and I a heart attack."
"And me," added Lucas from the foot of the bed. Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement from where they stood, quietly observing the family moment.
Harry swept his eyes over them, feeling a stab of guilt pierce through him. "I'm sorry… for… for worrying you. You've helped me so much and I couldn't—"
James quickly shook his head and stopped Harry from finishing his sentence. "No, no, no, Harry! You were brilliant! You flew so well! I have never been more proud in my entire life!"
Harry gave his father a tired grin. "Thanks… I still couldn't leave unscathed though. I think they'll dock points for that."
Lily huffed. She turned Harry's head to face hers and said, "None of that. Not one of the champions left unscathed tonight and you're not the worst off either. Besides, you only got burned after you finished the task. They can't fault you for the dragon breaking free. That's their fault. You did very well today, Harry, believe me."
Harry noted his mother's red-rimmed eyes and felt another stab of guilt. He had made his mother cry again yet she still went out of her way to praise him despite it all. "Thank you, mum. I'd hug you if I could but both my arms feel like jelly at the moment."
Everyone around him laughed at that. However, the light moment ended when Alastor Moody and Madame Pomfrey re-entered the tent. His prosthetic eye rolled around frantically in its socket as he walked forward. It settled on James Potter and Moody's permanent scowl deepened further.
"Potter…" he muttered, addressing James.
James, ever the accursed rascal, answered, "…er, which one?"
Moody growled at him and James burst out laughing. "The devil with you, Potter!"
He limped towards Harry's bed, pointedly ignoring James Potter's fit of laughter, and said, "Can you stand, boy?"
Harry nodded. "I can but… I'll need some help."
Moody nodded and beckoned him to follow him out of the medical tent. "They're announcing your scores once you step out, come."
James helped Harry out of bed and supported him as he led them towards the dragon enclosure again. Thankfully, the Horntail had been subdued and taken out of the enclosure when they stepped back in. The crowd cheered at Harry's reappearance, alerting the judges to his presence.
They waved their wands and they showed numbers representing their scores for the crowd to see. James' eyes widened when he saw the numbers and he gaped at Harry, who had no idea if the scores were good or not. He didn't have a clue what the other champions had gotten.
"AMAZING!" Ludo Bagman bellowed from the stands, his voice amplified by the Sonorus Charm again. "Mr. Harry Potter has received high scores on his performance in the first task. He is tied with Viktor Krum for first place!"
"I what?" Harry said, very much confused at the turn of events.
James' proud grin met his gaze. Instead of answers to his question, he was instead given enthusiastic pats on the back. "First place! My son got tied for first place!" He turned around to address the other Aurors around them. "D'you hear that?! I can't wait to tell the entire department tomorrow! FIRST PLACE!"
Even after being checked over by Madame Pomfrey right after the final announcements from the tournament's committee, Lily and James still wanted him to be checked over by the healers at St. Mungo's. They weren't worried about the school nurse's ability; they knew she could heal as well as the ones in the wizarding hospital. They were more worried about Harry's illness and whether or not the events in the first task had triggered something.
Much to their relief, not much had changed but they still advised Harry to be careful and to continue with his nutrition potions and other vitamins. His weight had dropped slightly but the healers had told them that it was probably just the stress of the first task taking its toll on him. The results from his physical and magical examinations revealed nothing out of the ordinary for Harry but they did find that the dark residue had grown a little bit stronger since the night of the world cup and it had alarmed them slightly.
It was, thankfully, nothing too concerning. It wasn't bothering Harry too much and was just staying still and being the parasite that it was. It was nothing Harry hadn't dealt with before, so they left it alone; not that they would know what to do with it in the first place.
It had taken several assurances from the healers that it wouldn't harm Harry severely for the foreseeable future to get Lily and James to calm down and take Harry back to Hogwarts. Harry didn't understand the big fuss. He already knew he was slowly dying. He didn't think having been given a burst of energy after being exposed to the dark mark would change that. The healers didn't know how to help him and so he didn't hold out hope to get better, either.
Harry returned to Hogwarts that night after a teary goodbye from his parents. Lily had never wanted to let him go and he stayed in her arms for a good fifteen minutes before James pried her away.
"Let him go, darling. He has a celebration to get to." James winked at Harry. Internally though, he sided with Lily but he knew how important it was for teenage boys to have their own independence and be able to enjoy themselves with late night dormitory parties.
Lily still didn't look like she would leave his side any time soon so Harry gave her a reassuring smile. "Mum, I'll be fine. I'll keep seeing Madame Pomfrey until my arm heals. You don't need to worry."
"Oh, Harry…" sighed Lily, stepping closer to him and cupping his face in her hands. "I don't need to worry but you'll find that I do it anyway. I always worry."
She pressed her lips on Harry's head and whispered her goodbyes before she joined James' side. James hugged his son tightly and said his goodbyes as well. He pulled Lily with him towards the apparition point after that and Harry watched them walk away. He watched them apparate out of Hogwarts with a sharp whiplike crack and he finally went inside the castle.
As he reached the fourth floor, he spotted a familiar head of red hair walking up a staircase that was already moving away from the landing where Harry stood. Without wasting a beat, Harry ran to get to the staircase, surprising the girl on it.
"Harry!" she gasped when she saw him.
Harry, still catching his breath, put up a hand to say hello to her. "G-Ginny… hey…"
Ginny watched him as he stood upright and walk towards her. Her eyes settled briefly on his bandaged arm but quickly looked away before Harry thought it rude.
"Bit late for you to be returning to the common room, eh?" Harry panted, standing at her side as the staircase settled. They started walking side by side as they climbed more staircases towards the direction of Gryffindor tower.
"Potions homework. Snape's been particularly nasty, assigning us three rolls of parchment's worth of essays." Ginny said sullenly.
Harry winced in sympathy. "I see… I haven't even started on mine yet. Though, I doubt he'll accept me fighting a dragon as an excuse."
Ginny laughed. "To be fair, that's not a particularly truthful excuse. You were hardly fighting the dragon, Harry. If anything, you were more of an annoying fly to it."
Harry barked out a laugh at that. "Hey, before you insult my strategy, I'll have you know it was you that planted it in my head!"
Ginny gawped. "What on earth are you talking about? I'm pretty sure I never told you to fly around a dragon."
"No, no, nothing like that. I was stumped when we were looking for ways to deal with the dragon and—hold on, watch out for that stair," Harry pulled her to the side and helped her hop over the vanishing stair. "—and then I remembered our talk, back then, at the lake. About Quidditch."
Ginny made a face. "And so you thought you'd deal with the dragon as if it was just another quidditch match? Harry Potter, you're barking mad!"
Harry grinned at her. It made Ginny's stomach do a flip.
"Maybe… but you helped me a lot. Thank you."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I should remember to put a disclaimer on anything I say from now on. One day, you'll be tried by the Wizengamot and then you'll say I had a hand in it. Better put a stop to this now."
Harry laughed again. He had started the day as a bundle of nerves and he had been beaten and burned along the way but he was glad that he ended the day with this much lightheartedness. He felt grateful to have run into Ginny and wind down before he would face the loud party that the rest of the Gryffindors had prepared. They were quick to change their attitude after the first task but Harry honestly could care less about their fickle minds. He was happier to be with his friends who stayed by his side even under everyone's hostility.
They reached the Fat Lady's portrait much sooner than Harry anticipated and even from outside, they could hear the rowdy celebrations from the common room. The Fat Lady looked grumpy at the noise and looked even more so when she saw Harry approaching.
"Oh, just what we need, more screams!" she muttered.
Harry had half a mind to turn back and hide from the rest of his house but Ginny had already given the password to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung forward to let them in.
"Harry? You coming?" Ginny called, seeing him hesitate by the entrance.
Harry winced at the increased volumes of the Gryffindors' celebration and involuntarily took a step back. Ginny's face softened and went up to him.
"I'll go get Lucas," she said. "I'll tell him to find a way to get you past the crowd unnoticed."
Harry shot her a grateful look. "Thank you, Ginny. Tell him to bring the cloak. I'll wait for him out here."
Ginny looked confused but nodded anyway. She didn't think a cloak would help his case. If anything, that would make him look more conspicuous but she didn't question him. Whatever made him feel more at ease, she guessed.
A/N: I didn't want to drag this out more lol. So yeh, first task over you know what that means! Next chapter, everyone's going to be worrying about the Yule Ball :D