Shoutout to my fellow Hufflepuff pianogirl111! And, respect to Sadie509 and Sunlift the Silkwing for being Ravenclaws! My mom is a Ravenclaw, so I am very familiar with that particular house! I think I'll be making Saturdays (in my time zone) my regular update time, to make it easier for you all. But, if I write 2 chapters in a week, I'll post one early and the other on Saturday, just as a treat. Now, onto the dragons!
"Remember, you got this. Summon your broom, fly circles around the dragon, and get that egg." Hermione told Harry in the tent. All the champions had to go to the tent before the task but were allowed visitors beforehand. So, Hermione and Elizabeth accompanied Harry to give him last-minute advice and support. Ginny had wanted to come, but she was a bit too nervous. And, she was trying to take Hermione's advice to stop focusing only on Harry, and notice other boys.
"Take it one foot forward at a time. Just stay ahead, get the egg, and stay alive." Elizabeth advised.
"Thanks. For everything, I mean." Harry said.
"Of course. We're friends." They hugged, and then Hermione hugged him, and then they had to leave the tent.
"He'll be alright. He's worked so hard. He'll be fine." Hermione said though she didn't sound very confident.
"They've got the dragon tamers on standby. Ginny talked to Charlie, and said he promised they'll jump in if need be." Elizabeth reassured.
Elizabeth hated the idea of lying to Ginny, so she had asked Harry if she could be included. She knew some about dragons as well, having Charlie for a brother.
"Every bedtime story he told me involved dragons. Every. Single. One." she had remarked once. So, she had helped Harry prep by giving him more recent information. As helpful as Elizabeth was, some of what she said was outdated.
She hated that.
But today wasn't about her. It was about making sure her friend didn't burn to a crisp.
Hermione and Elizabeth traversed through the stands, looking for the Weasleys that were rooting for Harry. (Ron was sitting with Dean and Seamus. They had ganged up on Harry a bit.)
"Hi, Elizabeth!" Colin Creevy said as they passed them.
"Hello, Colin." she replied, rather subdued. Unfortunately, the flame he carried for her was becoming a bonfire.
"Want to sit with my brother and I? We'll make space!" Colin asked.
"Sorry, I've got plans to sit with Ginny and her brothers." Elizabeth said, feeling guilty when his ever-present smile around her fell.
"Oh. Well, next time then!" he cheered.
"Aw, isn't it cute when a Mudblood and a freak are together?" Draco Malfoy called from across the aisle. Poor Colin looked devastated by that word.
"Leave us alone, Malfoy! For your information, we are not courting! And I happen to know someone who would love to turn you back into a ferret!" Elizabeth fired back.
Malfoy paled. Elizabeth took this as a sign to leave with Hermione.
"Courting?" Hermione asked with a grin.
"Yes. Why?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, it's not a very common word now. I've read it in books though, and it was funny to see that evil cockroach so perplexed." Hermione continued.
The two girls giggled and found their way to their friends in the stands. Luna sat next to Ginny, and Elizabeth sat on Ginny's other side. Soon, it was time.
The first out was Cedric. His dragon was the Swedish Short-Snout.
"There's still a chance Harry won't get the Horntail. He could have gotten the Welsh Green. That's the easiest one." Elizabeth whispered to Ginny and Hermione. But they were all still nervous.
Cedric performed valiantly. He turned a rock into a dog, which the dragon chased after.
"It was noble of Harry to warn Cedric." Luna remarked.
All three girls turned to her in surprise.
"How did you know?" Elizabeth asked. She had wanted to include Luna as well, but Hermione had worried that anything Luna might know could be…. Inaccurate.
"I had followed the most lovely butterfly into a bush. They're known for leading you to things you're missing. Like my quills. When I was in the bush, I overheard Harry tell Cedric. So did the butterfly." Luna explained.
Elizabeth was about to say something when Cedric's dragon roared. She looked over to see Cedric in the nest, trying to reach for the egg. Unfortunately, the dragon was stomping its feet on the ground, making him stumble. The dragon opened its mouth to breathe fire, and instantly it filled the air. Cedric had the sense to cover his face, but Elizabeth would bet a galleon that he hadn't escaped the dragon unscathed.
He was able to recover the golden egg and held it victoriously. Cheers rang through the crowd, and even though Elizabeth was rooting for Harry, she politely clapped.
Fleur was next. Her strategy was using some spells to confuse her dragon. A Welsh Green.
"That only leaves the Fireball and Horntail!" Ginny whispered frantically. Elizabeth understood her fear. As bad as the Horntail would be to face, the Chinese Fireball wasn't exactly a walk in the park to deal with. Fleur eventually got her dragon egg, though it was a lot harder for her to do so than Cedric.
Krum was the third to go, leaving Harry to be the fourth. Leaving Harry to face the Horntail.
As Krum battled his dragon, Elizabeth spent her time worrying over Harry. She wasn't paying much attention to what the Durmstrang student was doing, so when he accomplished the task, Hermione had to tap her to draw her out of her thoughts and clap.
Finally, it was Harry's turn. Elizabeth held her breath as he walked out. He raised his wand, but the dragon didn't make it easy on him. From what she could tell, the dragon tried to eat his wand.
"C'mon Harry. Use the spell!" she heard Hermione mumble.
As if he heard her, Harry bellowed something, and his broom was zooming through the sky. (It may or may not have hit a few Slytherins in the head.)
Harry mounted it and took off into the air. The Horntail had the same idea, and they both were soaring through the air.
"Go, Harry! Don't let it catch you!" Elizabeth cheered him on as he passed them.
The flight lasted for a while, Harry just narrowly dodging flames and teeth many times. He was trying to tire the dragon out, before getting the egg. He flew over the Black Lake, under and over the bridge, and above the turrets of the school. It only seemed to anger the dragon.
But, he was starting to wear. One could only take narrowly avoiding death so many times in an hour. When its head was turned, Harry swooped down to the nest. Just before he got there, the Horntail caught on. It snapped back to attention, and dove after Harry.
"Crash and burn, Potter!" Draco yelled. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and made a mental note to ask her mum how to turn someone into a ferret.
Harry, luckily, saw the Horntail and swerved at the last moment. For one scary moment, Elizabeth thought Harry had caught on fire. To her relief, he appeared seconds later! With the egg!
She cheered as loud as she could for Harry, along with all of Gryffindor.
Harry had to be taken to the tent for medical attention afterward and came out with a bandage on his left leg, and crutches.
"I'm not supposed to put weight on it for a week. Dragon burns on my leg from that thing." Harry explained to her.
"Well, you got a nice reward for that." Elizabeth told him.
"What? Did I not come in fourth after all?" Harry asked.
"No! You're tied with Krum for first!" Hermione announced as she entered the tent.
"Really?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Really!" Hermione confirmed, hugging him.
Needless to say, there was a huge party in the Gryffindor common room that night.