Ho Boy!
I did not expect to be writing this story at all. Glares menacingly at Honorversefan.
Oh well, I robed him into being more or less the permanent beta-reader for this crack-fic.
What's to say about it really. I got inspired by Andrius's three chapter fic "Dragon Date", and it is just the cutest thing I've ever seen, so go read that and follow/favourite the story. Throw in a quick review.
Since this is going to be a stupid crack-fic, I reserve the right to use any trope that the story needs to continue. I think that's all.
Hit me up on the Harry/Fleur Discord server if you want to chat, great people in there.
Enjoy
Waske
XxX
Chapter 1: Mistakes of Draconic Proportions
Harry Potter usually hated his life, but at this moment it had turned up to a solid fuck you from Fate. Being forced into the Triwizard Tournament was bad enough, dealing with a jealous Ron was even worse, but facing down a two ton nesting dragon was a whole different level of misery even for him. He and Hermione had spent the past weeks scouring through the library, even getting an unlimited pass to the restricted section from Professor Moody, but nothing had really turned up for him. It was the evening before the task, and Harry was starting to hate his life.
Idly flipping through the pages of a dusty old tome, that looked like it had a few splodges of blood, hopefully non-human, his eyes fell upon a page filled with scribbles in what looked like archaic English.
"Draconia Vincularis Imperium," Harry muttered to himself.
Reading over the pages, it looked like a sharing ritual between human and dragon, which would make the human safe from dragonfire and his body more resilient to bodily trauma. He looked around for Hermione, but couldn't see her anywhere. Looking over the specifications the ritual didn't seem to need more than his blood and the dragon's blood for the ritual to work. He would have to paint a rune on the dragon's forehead in his blood, while he drew a rune over his chest in the dragon's blood and then chant a longish incantation and likely survive the massive amount of pain such a ritual would bring him, but if it succeeded he would be safer from the dragons in the morning.
Throwing caution to the wind, Harry quickly packed up the book and put it into his bookbag while Madam Pince wasn't looking, before ducking out under his cloak. It would be better for everyone if they didn't know what he had just been reading. He wasn't even sure if Dumbledore had meant for the book to still be there. It was completely non-descript and hidden in a corner of a hidden bookshelf.
He quickly grabbed his silver knife in his potions kit, going over the runes once more before he made the slow trek out into the forest. He definitely had to have lost some of his marbles doing this. Hermione would definitely chide him fiercely if he even survived what was the quintessential hail Mary of stupidity.
Against all odds, Harry didn't run afoul of anyone on his way to the large cages. The dragons seemed to be subdued all around him with no-one in sight. He supposed that they had sedated them the night before the task, so the dragons were well-rested before they let them loose on the champions. How Bagman and Crouch thought they would be able to survive an encounter with a two ton fire breathing killing machine, Harry had no idea. He chalked it up to Wizards being morons once again. If he was being honest to himself, he wasn't sure if this world was much better than the one, he had left behind. Sure, living with the Dursleys was horrible but the amount of near-death experiences he had survived in the magical world didn't leave him with any fond memories either.
At this rate, he really only stayed around for the few people, he could still call friends and Sirius. The rest wasn't worth anything. They kept hating him and loving him in equal amounts but their attitudes were so fickle that he couldn't be bothered with them anymore.
He found his way to the cage of the Hungarian Horntail, if he was going to steal magic from one of these majestic creatures, he would choose the biggest and meanest of them all. Dudley had taught him that bigger meant better growing up and he was fairly certain that it applied to dragons as well.
Finding a spot between the scales where he could draw a small amount of blood was harder than he had initially thought, it was only because of Hagrid's long monologues about dragons that he finally found a spot where he could prick the dragon with his silver dagger, drawing enough blood for the rune on his chest.
One thing the ritual hadn't warned him about, or maybe it had and he just hadn't been able to translate it properly was that dragonblood on human skin burned like hot grease, it was sticky and the temperature was way past anything he had ever felt before. Clenching his teeth tightly together as he drew the runes on top of the Hungarian Horntail's head with a bloodied palm. He compared the runes in the book to the one on the fire breathing dragon's head, finally relaxing taking up a cross-legged position in front of the cage.
"Draconia Vinicular Imperiar Nexum…"
Muttering the incantation, Harry felt a burning sensation on his skin. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the bright light between his eyelids, hoping against all odds that nobody would be awake to see what he was doing. He could feel the dragonfire running through his veins unclogging them as the magic coursed through his body in a perfect circulation, constantly feeding itself as it drew in the ambient magic around him, pooling itself right above his navel as it built its way up into his chest where the rune was. A second heartbeat made itself known to him as the magic pumped through unknown veins; his blood boiling in his body; sweat pouring down from his face.
He reached the end of the incantation, feeling a bone-deep relaxation flooding over him, his nose picking up a stench coming from himself. Cracking open an eye he saw the light envelop the Hungarian Horntail in front of him, he looked down at his chest and found it covered in a sort of greyish matter, almost like sludge. He turned his head back to the glowing dragon and felt his jaw drop down uncontrollably.
Where the Hungarian Horntail had been only moments prior a young woman, no older than Fleur was lying asleep in the bottom of the cage, her hair was as dark as the scales the dragon had proudly shown before, a set of small spikes sticking out from her forehead, pointed scaly ears and a slimmed-down tail extending from her back. She was completely naked, shivering in the cold, and most problematic of all, she was just about to wake up.
He watched in horror as the young woman opened her eyes to look at him. The smile on her lips was both seductive and predatory as she blinked to clear off the sleep. Yup, it was official, Hermione would definitely have his hide for what he had just done.
"Husband!" the woman exclaimed.
"What?" Harry asked eloquently.
"You're my husband," the woman repeated. "You stink."
"Sorry?"
"It's alright." the woman shrugged. "But I would recommend you find a river to clean off your scales in."
"Excuse me." Harry blinked. "Could you back up a little? What did you just call me?"
"Husband of course. We just got married," the woman said. "You initiated the ancient marriage ritual between dragons and men. I hope I didn't get married to an idiot, also it's really in poor taste for you to marry me while I'm asleep. Usually, the bride should have a say in whether she wants to get married, but I suppose I could have found a worse mate. Your magic is strong within you."
"Uhm… What?!"
"Seriously," the woman shook her head. "I'm flattered and I would likely have accepted if you had asked. Anything to get away from these barbarians. Do you have any idea how much their magic hurts when they keep hurling it at us?"
"Uhm no?" Harry said unhelpfully.
"It isn't so bad when it's just the one or two, my scales usually take care of those, but when they hurl twenty or more at me at a time it really stings, and the headaches. Don't get me started on the headaches. They are the worst. I really should thank you for marrying me."
"We're married?"
"Yes, yes, keep up. Now get me out of this cage."
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Harry stalled.
"Why not?" the woman frowned. "Do you really want to see your wife being locked up like this? Maybe you aren't such a good guy after all."
"No no," Harry backpedalled. "It's just. What about the task tomorrow?"
"Oh, that silly tournament?" The woman grimaced. "You know, it really is quite rude of you humans to drag us from our home to put us in an arena for you to have fun with us. I'm telling you, the others are not pleased. Well neither was I really, but then you came and married me, so I'm willing to let bygones be bygones."
"But if I take you out the cage right now there's going to be a panic," Harry explained. "Well, there's going to be a panic anyway seeing as you're well…"
"Not quite a dragon anymore?" the woman teased. "Don't worry. I can easily shift back into my dragon form, I'm surprised though. The stories that are passed down would suggest that you would prefer me in this form. I can shift back for you if you want. Though it might make copulation a bit trickier."
"Copulation?" Harry eeped.
"We're married, remember? Seriously. Are you an actual idiot?"
"I don't think so?"
"Good. Are you a good hunter?" The woman asked. "Usually you would do this before the actual marriage ritual, but since you skipped right ahead and did that first then we'll have to do this now."
"Good hunter?"
"Yes, yes, what have you hunted before. Are you impressive? I can't show my face to the other dragons if my husband turns out to be a bad hunter. What's the most impressive beast you've hunted."
"Uhm, I've killed a thousand year old basilisk before," Harry said uncertainly. "Does that count?"
"Really?!" the woman leaned against the bars. "A thousand year old basilisk. If you can prove to me that you've killed one of those, I'll let you breed me right this instant. We would make strong offspring."
"Breed? Offspring?" Harry squeaked.
"Of course," the woman nodded. "You are a mighty hunter for bringing down one of those foul beasts."
Sounds of sniffing reached his ear. He self consciously tried to wipe off the sludge on his body, but it only seemed to cake his hands, smearing it further around his body.
"Don't bother," the woman said. "You'd need a river to remove that layer of filth. Your magic smells amazing, strong. I'm almost certain you would have had a chance to best me even before we did the ritual, now I would say you're about as strong, if not stronger than me in my dragon form. Yes, yes, I've really gotten lucky with you, Husband."
"So we're married?"
"Yes, keep up. Now, are you going to keep me in this cage or not?"
"What about the tournament?" Harry asked. "I can't let you out before the task is complete."
"Fine." the woman shrugged. "We'll wait until the task is complete before we can be together."
"How do we explain you turning into a woman?" Harry asked, beginning to feel rather self-conscious about her naked appearance.
He felt his cheeks flush as he turned his head away from her nakedness. He almost turned his head back when he heard the small giggles coming from the cage.
"I'm happy to see that this fleshy form is attractive to you." she laughed softly. "I was beginning to get worried that you wouldn't copulate with me. My grandmother always said that humans had this weird idea about physical attraction."
"What are dragons attracted to?" Harry asked genuinely interested.
"Strength of course. A strong mate means that they will be able to protect the offspring and provide food for me as I protect the nest. You're already a strong hunter if you are to be believed, husband."
"Harry."
"What?"
"You can call me Harry, my name is Harry Potter."
"What kind of name is Harry Potter?" the woman asked.
"The one my parents gave me." Harry huffed. "What did your parents call you?"
"Conqueror of the Wide Skies, Firebreather of the Spiked Kind," she said proudly. "Okay, I admit it sounds better in Draconic."
"Ehm, okay." Harry scratched the back of his head.
"You give me a name, Harry Potter."
"Katarina?"
"Katarina," the woman tasted the name. "It'll do. I need another name. Something fierce, something that will bring fears to our enemies. Something fiery."
"Anadlydd tân is Welsh for Fire Breather," Harry mused. "My mother's name was Lily."
"Analily," Katarina said. "Katarina Analily Potter. That's what they will know me as. My name will strike fear into our prey."
"Nice to meet you, Katarina." Harry smiled. "So, tomorrow?"
"Right, right." Katarina waved her hand. "I'll turn into my dragon form and wait until the task is over. You better hope that you'll be facing me. I won't show mercy to any of the other humans. Only you are special. It'll be a test, since you haven't proven yourself to me. Prove to me that you're better than me in some way, or I will be in control of this marriage, and you will answer to me."
Gulping, Harry did the only thing he could and nodded to the fierce woman.
"Good, Harry Potter." Katarina smirked. "Now leave. You may be strong, but you still need your rest. Come find me tomorrow and we will have our battle for dominance. Don't worry I will not throw you away if you prove to be weaker than I, but I will control you if you prove to be a disappointment. Don't disappoint me, Harry Potter. We will meet on the field of battle tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Harry repeated, watching in awe as Katarina blurred into her massive dragon form.
He gingerly reached out towards her head, scratching her scales under her massive jaw, instinctively knowing where she wanted him to scratch her. Waving to his dragon wife as he disappeared under his invisibility cloak, Harry slightly shook his head. He had no idea how he had managed to find a marriage ritual specifically made for marriage between humans and dragons and somehow succeeded in completing it without having to dominate the dragon as Katarina had said he would usually have had to go about it.
Arriving in the Gryffindor common room, Harry almost ran into a nervous Hermione, wringing her hands together. He really wanted to take a shower before he had to talk to her, but seeing her this anxious, he just couldn't let her wait until he was cleaned up again. Pulling off the invisibility cloak in front of her, only for her to jump up into the air in fright almost made him chuckle.
"Harry James Potter! Where have you been?" she chided, holding her hands to her heart. "I was so worried. Do you have any plan for your dragon tomorrow?"
"Maybe," Harry said. "I'll be alright if I pick the Hungarian Horntail."
"But that's the fiercest of the four of them." Hermione scrunched up her brow. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Harry said quickly. "I'm going to take Moody's advice. I'm going to try and outfly my dragon."
"You can't bring anything but your wand, remember?" Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "Are you even being serious about this?"
Harry lifted his wand and pointed it towards a pillow willing his magic to pull it towards him, catching it as it almost hit his face faster than he could register.
"Of course! You can summon your broom," Hermione slapped her forehead. "Wait, did you just summon that silently? That's incredibly advanced and you could barely do that when we learned about it in charms."
"Guess I did," Harry said. "You can bring my broom to the stands. No need for me to summon it from further away."
"I'm not sure that's allowed in the rules," Hermione bit her lip.
"I'm not bringing it with me into the arena," Harry argued. "It's not like there's any rules against what the audience can bring with them."
"I suppose that's true." Hermione nodded. "This is insane."
"Tell me about it." Harry nodded. "Alright, I really need a shower and to get some sleep. We'll practice before the task tomorrow, but I'm confident I'll be able to summon the broom."
"If you can do it silently, I'm sure you're more than able to do it tomorrow." Hermione nodded. "Good job finding a way to do it."
"Thanks." Harry smiled. "And thank you so much for helping me."
Before he could stop her, Harry found himself engulfed in a bone breaking hug from Hermione. Remembering that he was covered in sludge, he tried to break away from her, but he was afraid he would hurt her.
"What have you been doing?" Hermione asked. "You really stink."
"I went to see the dragons again," Harry told a half-truth. "I'm covered in Forbidden Forest, which is why I really need a shower."
"Go," Hermione scrunched up her nose. "I'll see you early for breakfast."
"Aye aye, captain."
"Shut it. Good night Harry."
"Good night, Hermione."
Waking up the next morning, Harry felt nervous for a different reason. He could feel the changes that the marriage ritual had done to his body. He felt stronger and more refreshed than he ever had before. He even felt like he had grown a little bit. His skin looked cleaner and more white and his scar had dimmed considerably. He could even see without his glasses, properly which had come as a welcome surprise. He remembered having to use them before going to sleep, but the changes probably weren't completely finished for him yet. His second heartbeat was still constantly pumping magic around his body.
Normally, he would have had no appetite, but the smell of breakfast had him feeling hungrier than he had ever felt before. He could probably even compete with Ron in quantity at the moment.
"Wow, slow down, Harry," Fred said sitting down next to him. "Feeling ready? Got a game plan?"
"Should we lower or raise the odds of you surviving?" George asked on the other side.
"I'll probably be okay." Harry shrugged. "I only have to deal with a dragon."
The gasps followed by immediate silence descending around him made him look up at the people's faces. Most of them looked a bit green, while others were on the verge of crying. Fred and George had even lost a bit of their usual exuberance.
"Dragons?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, got to deal with a dragon each."
"Are they insane?!" Katie shrieked.
"Well, I don't know, probably? Bagman seems to have taken a few too many hits from bludgers and Crouch either doesn't understand or doesn't care about the dangers of dragons," Harry said, standing up from his seat. "Oh well, wish me luck."
Smirking, Harry grabbed an apple before making his way back to the Gryffindor common room, where he would hand over his Firebolt for Hermione to bring to the arena. She hadn't been awake yet, but she probably would be by the time he got up there. He decided to dress light, wearing one of his quidditch outfits without the padding. Walking back down into the common room with his Firebolt over his shoulder, he quickly spotted Hermione and handed it over to her.
"I guess I'm all set." Harry smiled.
"How can you be so relaxed?" Hermione frowned. "You're going up against a dragon."
"I'll be fine." Harry waved dismissively. "I've survived worse."
"Oooh, I hope you'll be alright," Hermione fretted.
"No use worrying about it." Harry smiled. "Come, let's head down there."
They had barely made it to the entrance hall before they were stopped by Professor McGonagall, telling him that he needed to head to the Champion's tent. Giving Hermione a quick goodbye hug, Harry followed Professor McGonagall at a leisurely pace. He could see her casting several worried glances towards him.
"I hope you're ready, Mr Potter," she said before leaving him in front of the tent.
Heading in, Harry spotted the other three champions in various states of distress. Fleur was absently biting at her fingernails in one of the chairs, Krum was staring at the canvas, mumbling to himself, Cedric was walking back and forth only briefly looking up at him, giving him a quick nod, before he returned to his pacing. Harry found himself a chair and leaned back closing his eyes.
"Are you not worried?" Fleur asked in a harsh whisper.
"Nope." Harry smiled.
"Are you stupide?" she hissed. "We are facing dragons."
"I know."
"You are insane."
"Most likely." Harry shrugged. "This time I had time to prepare before facing a life-threatening situation unlike before."
"What do you mean?"
Harry looked around, seeing that both Cedric and Krum were looking at him intently.
"What?" Harry asked. "It's not like Cedric doesn't know I've almost died a couple of times while attending Hogwarts."
"There were rumours," Cedric admitted. "But those were just rumours… right?"
"Which ones?" Harry asked amusedly.
Being married to a fire breathing dragon, no matter how insane it was, really helped put things into perspective.
"Quirrell in my third year, Slytherin's monster in my fourth year, Sirius Black last year. There were many rumours floating around at the end of the years," Cedric said.
"Quirrell tried to kill me, Slytherin's monster was a large basilisk, it's dead now, and Sirius Black wasn't the problem, but the dementors did try to kiss me a couple of times, talk about a bad first kiss," Harry leaned back again.
"You're lying," Fleur said.
Sitting up straight, Harry levelled his most loathsome glare at Fleur, willing her to see the truth.
"I could show you the basilisk corpse," Harry said evenly. "If the princess isn't afraid of getting dirty. If you survive your encounter with a dragon that is."
"Slytherin's monster was a basilisk?" Cedric paled.
"Yup," Harry said, closing his eyes again. "Seventy feet long or so. A dragon only burns you alive, at least you can look at it while it does so."
"Morbid, but true," Cedric chuckled mirthlessly.
"If true, I vould like to see," Krum said. "Thousand year old basilisk is impressive."
"Sure," Harry shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem. I'll have to bring someone else."
"Who?" Fleur asked.
"A friend," Harry said evasively.
They didn't get another chance to question him as they were interrupted by the arrival of Rita Skeeter and her camera man shortly followed by Bagman and Crouch.
"A quick photo?" Rita asked.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Skeeter," Dumbledore's voice came from the tent flaps. "This tent is only for Champions and Tournament Officials."
Harry smirked as he watched her run away in a huff. He really wouldn't mind if the woman became dragon food. Maybe he could get Katarina to eat her, no that would be bad for her stomach. One can only eat so much bitch before getting a stomach ache.
"Gather round, Champions, gather round," Bagman exclaimed happily. "Your first task will be to collect the golden egg from a nesting Dragon."
He looked thoroughly disappointed at the lack of reaction from the champions around him. It was only the coughing coming from Crouch that helped him focus back on the task at hand.
"Right, right, in Barty's sack there are four replica models of the dragons you will be facing, now ladies first?"
Fleur extended her hand into the bag and pulled out a miniature green dragon.
"The Common Welsh Dragon," Crouch muttered. "Mr Diggory?"
Cedric pulled out a small blue dragon.
"The Swedish Short-Snout," Bagman clapped his hands. "Mr Krum?"
Krum likewise pulled up a miniature red dragon, pulling his fingers away as it snapped and spewed a small amount of flames at them.
"The Chinese Fireball," Bagman beamed. "Feisty one, don't you agree? That only leaves Mr Potter."
Smirking, Harry put his hand into the bag and pulled out the last dragon.
"Katarina," he rubbed the small model with a finger, right where Katarina enjoyed being scratched, making the model purr in his hand.
"The Hungarian Horntail." Bagman nodded seriously. "The deadliest of them all."
Harry rolled his eyes at the gasping of the other competitors. He still couldn't believe his luck, he was going up against Katarina. It was literally perfect. She wouldn't kill him, hurt him sure, but only to establish dominance over him, not that he would let himself get dragon-pecked this early in his marriage. That was still a weird thought, oh well. He would show her who the best flyer was and then he would follow it up with showing her who the best hunter was. No dragon lady was going to control him.
"You don't look nervous," Fleur whispered. "Ze Hungarian Horntail is very fierce. Madame Maxime told me that I would have little chance of making it out unscathed against it if I was even able to make it out alive."
"It's alright." Harry waved his hand. "I've got a plan."
"Mr Diggory!" Bagman called. "When the claxon fires the task will begin, followed by Miss Delacour, followed by Mr Krum with Mr Potter at the end. Good luck."
Going back to their pre-task ritual of staring off into the distance and biting their nails, Fleur and Krum didn't pay any more attention to Harry or Cedric.
"Good luck, Cedric," Harry said jauntily. "Go show them who the Real Hogwarts champion is."
"Ehm… Alright?" Cedric nervously shrugged. "You too."
"Thanks," Harry smiled, sitting back down.
There wasn't any further time for conversation as the claxon went off, making Cedric leave the tent to the sound of cheering and Bagman's enhanced voice. Harry absentmindedly listened to the commentary. It sounded like Cedric had tried to use transfiguration to complete his task, but had ended up badly burned. The claxon went off again, announcing that the second round of the task was about to begin as Fleur walked determinedly out of the tent, leaving Harry and a brooding Krum alone in the tent.
"You are very calm," Krum grunted.
"It's just like a quidditch game."
"Nein, quidditch do not try and kill you vith fire."
"I guess it doesn't, but it does try to kill you with bludgers and heights."
"You have very dark humour," Krum chuckled. "I think I might like you, Harry Potter."
"Thanks, I guess. Good luck."
The claxon went off for a third time, leaving Harry alone in the tent to wait until he would be up against Katarina.
"Well, this is at least going to be interesting," Harry mused to himself, shaking his head. "Got to be ready to put on a show for her."
The sounds of the crowd and the roars of the Chinese Fireball made its way all the way to Harry's ears. The roar of excitement signalling that Krum had somehow managed to complete his task as well, making Harry get up and stretch for a moment before getting ready to walk out. He could feel the pregame excitement well up inside of him, sure he was going up against Katarina, who was at the moment a two ton fire breathing killing machine, but he was going to compete with her in flying and he couldn't help feeling the adrenaline pump through his blood. He instantly walked out when he heard the sound of the claxon going off.
"And our last Champion who needs no introduction! The Boy-Who-Lived, Harry POTTER!"
Seeing Katarina in all of her majesty brought a smile to Harry's face. He bowed to her before lifting up his wand into the air, she wouldn't move before he was ready.
"Accio Firebolt!" Harry called out.
The broomstick flew from Hermione's seat to the right of him, he grabbed it from the air, ignoring Bagman's commentary about how he had chosen to summon a broom for his task. He lifted up from the ground and quickly did a loop on his broom in front of Katarina, dodging a pillar of flame in the process.
Harry teasingly wagged a finger at her, before he began circling her. He hated seeing her in chains, so he did the most insane thing he could have done and blasted the chains holding her down. She really was something else as she stretched her body and wings.
"Potter has freed his dragon?" Bagman commented questioningly. "Has he lost his marbles? The Hungarian Horntail seems to be… stretching? The dragon is bowing its head at Potter? Ladies and Gentlemen, I have no idea what is going on at the moment."
Ascending quickly into the sky, Harry goaded Katarina into following him. Weaving and ducking; dodging and swirling; Speeding up and slowing down; he participated in a deadly aerial dance between dragon and man; husband and wife. They had almost made it out of sight of everybody when Harry decided that they had enough. The game was on. Katarina knew that he would have to get the golden egg, she wasn't stupid, and he knew that she would do her very best to block him.
Descending rapidly in a corkscrew, Harry and Katarina spiralled around each other in a deadly game of chicken. She had completely pulled in her wings, while Harry had laid himself flush against his broomstick. Her weight gave her a distinct advantage as they barrelled towards the ground, but Harry wasn't about to give up. One hundred feet, eighty feet, sixty feet, fifty feet, forty feet, thirty feet, twenty feet, the ground was coming closer fast. At ten feet Katarina had to spread her wings to kill her momentum, but Harry continued his dive until he was only a foot from the ground, quickly grabbing the golden egg and pulling up in front of her face with a smug look on his face.
The crowd had descended into a dead silence until he pulled up, now they were mixingly screaming for him to leave and in cheer as he hovered in front of Katarina. He held the golden egg up on his shoulder as he slowly drifted down to the ground in front of her. Nobody made a sound as Harry landed in front of her, her head descending down to his height. He idly scratched her favourite spot.
"Good enough?" He asked her.
Instead of an answer he was met with a blinding light, signalling her transformation into a woman. Harry quickly dropped the egg and pulled off his jersey, knowing that she would end up being naked in front of everybody. He might not have completely comprehended the fact that he was married, but that didn't mean that he wanted to see his wife naked.
Even before the light stopped shining he had pulled the jersey over her head, waiting calmly topless as she finished transforming. She immediately flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You were amazing," she gushed. "I've never had such a good flight before. You're like the wind. More than a worthy flier for myself. I'm very impressed, Harry Potter."
"Good," Harry laughed. "Now we should probably get out of here. Look at them gaping."
"Okay," Katarina nodded. "Remember to bring your egg. Thank you for getting rid of those chains, they really dug into my scales. I'm telling you, those humans are bad people, please protect little me from the small bad men."
"They're the same size as you at the moment," Harry laughed. "Come on. I'm sure someone is ready to check to see if my head is alright."
"I didn't hit you with my flame did I?" Katarina asked worriedly. "I only wanted to have a little fun."
"Don't worry," Harry hugged her to him. "You didn't get me. I know you were just playing around. You didn't even use your tail when we were flying around. There were at least three places where you could have knocked me clean off my broom."
"I was having too much fun," Katarina smiled demurely. "We should go flying again some time."
"Sure," Harry walked through into the infirmary tent.
Inside of it, he spotted Cedric being wrapped in paste and bandages on half his body, Fleur was lying on her stomach with a sheet covering her lower half, Krum looked the best, but he still looked singed at the hems of his robes, a large scratch down his arm.
"Have a seat, Mr Potter," Madame Pomfrey said hesitantly. "And uhm… Miss?"
"Potter," Katarina said evenly. "Mrs Potter."
"What?!" a shrill voice appeared in the opening of the tent.
Harry turned to find Ron and Hermione staring between him and Katarina. Dragging his hand down his face, he sighed deeply.
"Way to let the dragon out of the bag, Katarina," Harry growled.
"What?" Katarina asked. "I need to keep these females away from you. You're mine, Harry Potter."
"Yes, but dumping it on them like that…"
"Mr Potter?"
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry nodded. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's more about your companion," Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly tone. "We are somewhat confused about her identity."
"This is Katarina Analily," Harry introduced. "Known in Draconic as Conqueror of the Wide Skies, Firebreather of the Spiked kind."
"Miss Analily," Dumbledore said. "Am I correct in assu-"
"Mrs Potter," Katarina interrupted. "My human name would be Katarina Analily Potter. Harry is my husband."
"Yeah, that," Harry dropped down on his bed.
"This is no time for jokes," Dumbledore frowned.
"She isn't," Harry said. "The flying was part of… Katarina?"
"It was to establish who would be the dominant in our marriage," Katarina hugged him. "Harry is a better flyer than me. I had to pull up first. Though I'm not sure if he is as good of a hunter as I am."
"This is most irregular," Dumbledore said. "I'm not sure I can allow…"
"You can try," Katarina growled. "But if you get between me and my husband, I swear that I will burn you to ash."
"Right," Dumbledore chuckled. "The dragon handlers are asking about you."
"I'm going to be leaving the reserve to stay with my husband," Katarina said as if that was all she needed to say. "I'll burn everyone who tries to keep me away from my husband."
"You're married?!" Hermione shrieked.
"Yup," Harry looked up from his position on the bed. "You're welcome to complain, but please remember that Katarina is a fire breathing dragon."
"Is she a pack mate?"
"Yes," Harry nodded. "Don't turn her to ash."
"Okay," Katarina snuggled into Harry. "I won't burn her."
"Thank you," Harry smiled. "Is there anything else? I got the egg. What are my scores?"
"Well we haven't really decided yet," Dumbledore said. "You must understand that we didn't quite consider one of our champions getting married to one of the dragons."
"Not my problem," Harry said. "As I said you're free to argue with her."
"No that's quite alright," Dumbledore nodded.
The silence extended in the tent while everyone was looking at the couple snuggling on the bed. Harry couldn't really blame them, it had been a shock to him as well the night before.
"You married a dragon?"
Harry had forgotten that Ron was standing there as well. He didn't really know what to do about him. At one point he would have been happy to make up with Ron, but at the moment he wasn't sure if he really cared about Ron. His problems were quite a lot bigger than one jealous friend.
"Yes," Harry sighed. "I didn't mean to." "
"Hey!" Katarina shoved him in the ribs.
"Oof," Harry grunted. "Let me finish."
"Fine, but you're playing with fire, Harry."
"I didn't mean to marry Katarina, but I'm quite okay with it at the moment. I'm looking forward to getting to know her and she's amazing to fly with, when she isn't trying to burn me."
"I love flying with you too," Katarina purred. "You're forgiven. I guess it was a bit of a shock for both of us."
"And could you tell me, how it was that you happened to be married?" Dumbledore asked.
"Ehm…" Harry hesitated.
"My magic intermingled with his," Katarina explained. "Then we sealed the marriage while we flew earlier. Like the dragon riders of old, the laws are older than your silly wands. The dragon issues a challenge and if the wizard succeeds then the marriage bond is established by magic herself."
"I see," Dumbledore frowned. "Well, we'll be discussing your score, Mr Potter."
"I guess we should follow and get my score?" Harry suggested. "What do you think about that?"
"Could you make this piece of cloth longer?" Katarina pouted. "I'm showing my reproductive organs to everybody."
"I'll help you with that dear," Madame Pomfrey said, still shocked at the development. "I've got something you can change into."
"NO! I want to wear my husband's gift," Katarina exclaimed. "I just need something for the bottom part."
"Quite," Madam Pomfrey's face turned sour. "Well, Mr Potter?"
"Ehm? What do you want me to do?"
"I assumed you had brought another set of clothes since you so willingly gave away your jersey to Miss Katarina," Madam Pomfrey arched an eyebrow.
"Ehm no," Harry scratched the back of his neck. "I really didn't think about that."
"Well, I suppose you can go out there in a hospital gown, I'll help stretch the jersey until it covers her thighs," Madam Pomfrey sighed. "It will only last for a couple of hours before reverting."
"Yes, ma'am." Harry pulled on the robe, while waiting for the matron to lengthen his jersey down her legs.
"Thank you, Madam," Katarina bowed. "Very helpful."
"You're welcome, dear." Madam Pomfrey smiled, making Harry scowl at the difference in treatment.
"Come on, Harry," Katarina said. "Let's see our scoring."
"Don't you mean mine?" Harry asked.
"No, we performed together," Katarina said. "You wouldn't look nearly as good in the air without me."
"I suppose I wouldn't have." Harry nodded. "Alright our score."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione and Ron follow at a set distance. He sighed inwardly at Ron's half-hearted attempts at saying something. Instead of dwelling on Ron, Harry quickly found himself getting distracted by the warmth of Katarina clinging to his arm.
"Welcome back, Mr Potter," Crouch said. "It is a most unusual situation we find us in."
"Stop being such a spoilsport, Barty," Bagman interrupted. "He completed the task before any of this complicated nonsense happened. He had the egg in hand long before the dragon turned into a young woman."
"They do know I'm right here, right?" Katarina whispered. "I'll burn that man to a crisp, nobody would miss him."
Harry just squeezed on of her hands in response, patiently waiting for his scores to arrive. Most of them were fairly high, he was probably ducked a couple of points for taking his time with his aerial dance with Katarina, not that he cared. Bagman gave him full marks, not a surprise if you thought about it. He was a professional quidditch player at one point, he likely appreciated the flying. Karkaroff gave him a biased four, much to the chagrin and booing of the audience.
"You're placed first alongside Krum," Hermione whispered. "Karkaroff is super biased. He gave Krum a ten even though his dragon crushed some of its eggs."
"They weren't our eggs," Katarina said. "Everyone would be dead if those were our eggs. Also I would like to inform you that I haven't been bred by anyone as of yet and couldn't have laid any eggs, thank you very much."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Hermions said sheepishly, before paling quickly. "I'm sorry if I offended you."
"Relax, Harry's pack mate," Katarina waved her dainty hand. It really was a dainty hand for a dragon woman. "It's not a problem. Most dragons don't get married, they just breed and then go their separate ways when the clutch is grown enough for them to survive on their own. I've only just reached an egg laying age."
"So, you haven't?" Harry asked.
"No, husband," Katarina purred. "I'm pure."
"Oh, alright," Harry coughed. "Well, shall we?"
"Shall what?" Katarina asked.
"I'm certain that Fred and George have prepared a party," Harry explained. "And we should really get you into some more clothes. Maybe Angelina or Alicia have something in your size?"
"As long as I can keep your jersey," Katarina said. "I like that it smells like you."
"Sure, keep it," Harry said. "I'll get new ones made next year if I need them."
