Chapter - 16
"What do you think Hagrid wants to show us, Harry?"
It was Monday afternoon. Harry and Ron were on their way to see Hagrid. The half-giant sent a note to Harry earlier that day inviting Harry, Ron, and Hermione to his cabin that afternoon. They were walking along the edge of the garden. Very few students could be seen within the garden and those who were there were oblivious to Harry's presence which was a godsend.
"Hopefully not the skrewts. I'll turn back immediately if he shows us that," Harry replied. "I mean, what else there is to see?"
"I know, right?" Ron agreed.
Hagrid was waiting for them in front of his cabin, all smiling.
"Yeh made it!" he greeted the boys brightly. There was enormous excitement about him. "Follow me. Need ter show yeh somethin'." But Hagrid suddenly paused when he realized Hermione wasn't with Ron and Harry. "Where's Hermione? Yeh didn't tell her ter come?"
"She couldn't come, Hagrid. She said she got something needs doing. She sent you her regards," Harry explained.
"Oh, okay. Off we go then."
For some reason, Hermione had been acting rather strange lately. She would disappear for hours and would only make appearances during classes and whenever she wants to eat. Harry asked her about her recent behavior but she dismissed his concerns.
"Might I point out that the amount of time you spent at the library is getting ridiculous lately, Hermione," blurted Harry when Hermione appeared halfway through dinner one evening.
Hermione said nothing at first. She plopped down her bag and her books. She then took a plate and began filling it with cherry tomato couscous salad, a dish she seemed to prefer lately.
"I thought you two are always together at the library," said Ron as he munched on the fried chicken leg. "What gives?"
"We are but Hermione always chooses to stay back nowadays. And she no longer invites me to join her as much as before," said Harry, still staring at Hermione. "I too am curious if you ask me."
"Loads of things to do," said Hermione without looking at Harry. "I thought you're going to get bored and Ronald here would have no one to befriend with if you're always with me."
"Hey!" Ron exclaimed. "I too have other friends, you know."
But Hermione ignored him. She just kept on eating.
"Me getting bored? Well, that's new but whatever. Need any help? Maybe I can speed things up a little bit for you," Harry offered.
Hermione paused. She then shook her head. "No thanks. I can manage."
"Are you sure? At least you could tell us what makes you so busy lately."
"Sorry, no. Now stop talking, Harry. I'm eating."
Harry threw his hands up in defeat and turned his attention back to his food.
"What is it that you want to show us, Hagrid?" asked Harry as the three of them trudged into the Dark Forest. It was only a quarter past four in the afternoon but the sheer thickness of the forest's shrub and the thick tree canopies that prevented most sunlight from reaching the forest's floor made navigating the forest even during the day a bit treacherous. "You're not taking us to see Aragog, are you?"
Aragog was a giant spider that Harry and Ron had no pleasure of meeting during their second year. It lived deep within the Dark Forest. If it wasn't for the quick action of the Ford Anglia formerly owned by Mr. Weasley, the boys would have been part of Aragog and his family dinner menu that night.
"What?! Of course not! I remember what 'appened that night." Hagrid was still grinning, however."Don't worry, lads. I had him move deeper into the forest where he can no longer hurt anyone. No, what I'm going ter show you is a lot better than Aragog. Yer see."
Harry and Ron glanced at each other worriedly. They knew full well what Hagrid's definition of 'better' usually constituted.
Deeper into the forest the three of them went. Harry and Ron had to jog most of the time to keep up with Hagrid. In the Dark Forest, that was not an easy thing to do. Ron nearly fell flat on his face many times. Harry however was a lot more agile and was able to avoid many fallen branches, roots, and crevices that littered the forest floor with ease. He in the end unwittingly became Ron's guide by telling the redhead where to put his foot and what to avoid.
Ron's incessant grumbling came to a stop when all of a sudden they heard a deafening, ear-splitting roar that came just ahead of them. Hagrid led the two around a clump of trees and came to a halt. And for a split second, Harry thought he was seeing a bunch of men playing with flame throwers.
Except that, flamethrowers do not roar and wizards do not have flamethrowers. Well, they do but not the kind muggle usually uses actually.
What he and Ron saw were dragons. Real-life dragons. Their jaw figuratively dropped to the ground as they saw four gigantic dragons, trapped within their respective cages with men darting around them. The incessant, deafening roar came from the dragons. Torrents of fire shot into the darkness of the forest from their opened, fanged mouth, many feet above the ground on their outstretched neck in anger.
At least thirty wizards, all divided into several groups, attended to the dragons. They were trying very hard to control those dragons. A losing battle those wizards were fighting at least to Harry's eyes, and he began to wonder what are the chances the champion would have against the dragons. And they would have to face four dragons, not one as everyone imagined.
"Mind your distance, Hagrid!" yelled one of the wizards. "They can shoot fire at the range of more than twenty feet! This Horntail here can do forty! A nasty beast they are! Woah!"
The said Horntail suddenly shot fire from its mouth towards the wizard. Luckily the wizard managed to jump sideways just in time before the flame could engulf him.
"Four dragons! You gotta effing kidding me! I thought there would only be one!" Ron exclaimed.
"One dragon each fer two champions, Ron," said Hagrid. "All are dangerous in their own right but I pity anyone who had ter face the Hungarian Horntail. They're like king cobra of the dragons, yeh know. Very vicious. Its backend is as dangerous as its front. Look!"
Hagrid pointed towards the Horntail's long tail, which was completely covered with rows of protruding long, yellowish spikes. As a matter of fact, of all the four dragons, the Horntail was the most difficult to be controlled.
"I thought dragonhide is impervious to most spells. Why on earth do they think those champions, let alone anyone, can defeat those dragons, Hagrid?" asked Harry incredulously.
"They're not going ter defeat the dragon, Harry. They merely need ter get past them and rescue somethin'," Hagrid explained. "At least that's what they told me."
"Rescue something? Like what?"
"Oh, I dunno. Yeh see it this Thursday, Harry. By the way Ron, your brothers are here."
"Charlie you mean?! Well, where is he?" said Ron, a little bit elated.
"Charlie and Bill, as a matter of fact, They're right-," Hagrid tried squinting through the chaos but unfortunately he saw no Charlie or Bill. "- there. Probably somewhere there among those wizards. They're sleeping in my cabin tonight. Bill got a few days off so he decided ter come."
"Have any of the champions saw the dragons, Hagrid?" asked Harry curiously. "They didn't look all too well during lunch today."
"Only the Ilvermony and Uagadou champion saw the dragons, Harry. Their headmasters brought their boys here earlier today. Gotta say the boys certainly looked as if their blood was completely drained off their body after that," replied Hagrid.
"No kidding. How could anyone be fine after seeing those things?" said Ron.
But Hagrid just shrugged. "They'll be fine, Ron. Dragons are just misunderstood creatures, that's all. They make great pets, yeh know? Oh wait! I'll be damn! Is that the eggs?!"
Crates of what looked like dragon eggs could be seen not far from where they stood. Hagrid stared longingly at those crates.
"I know what you're thinking, Hagrid," said Harry upon observing Hagrid's reaction to those eggs. "Please don't."
"Don't what?" Hagrid was still staring at the eggs.
"You know what I mean. They're not worth the trouble. We had a hard time covering your shenanigans the last time, remember?"
"I'm just looking at it."
"I know that look, Hagrid. Once again, please don't."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure."
Harry and Ron exchanged looks and shook their heads. Their memory of Norbert during their first year came to mind. They could only hope that Hagrid wouldn't do anything stupid.
The boys left an hour later.
During dinner that night, every Gryffindor gathered around Ron as he regaled what he saw within the Dark Forest that afternoon. Harry spoke nothing, however. He just ate his dinner quietly and let Ron became the storyteller and every time someone came to him asking about the dragons, he directed them towards Ron.
Professor Lupin collected him near the end of dinner and together, they headed towards the headmaster's office.
"See you guys tonight," he said to Ron and Hermione before following Remus out of the Great Hall.
"So who else is there beside me, you and Professor Dumbledore?" asked Harry as they turned into a corridor that led to Dumbledore's office. "I take it that the DMLE will have their representative present too?"
"Yes, they are sending one," Remus answered. "Do you know anything about Kingsley Shacklebolt?"
Harry shook his head. "Never heard of him."
"He is, apart from Arthur, Professor Dumbledore's close confidant at the Ministry and our very good friend. He helped us a lot during Sirius's trial, you know," said Remus.
Harry smiled at this. "I like him already."
Remus chuckled.
The headmaster's office was a little bit overcrowded when Harry and Remus entered. Aside from the usual suspect that was Professor Dumbledore, Snape, Bill Weasley, and Sirius Black were there too. A tall, black wizard whom Harry assumed to be Kingsley Shacklebolt was there as well.
"Hey, Harry!" Harry's godfather greeted him.
"Sirius!"
Harry went ahead and hugged Sirius. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Snape rolling his eyes. From the way the Potion Master acted, it was clear to Harry that Snape never wanted to be there in the first place.
"Harry Potter," greeted the black wizard. He extended his hand and Harry took it. They shook hands. "It's an honor to finally meet you. Sirius Black told me a lot about you."
"Well, I hope he told you only good things about me," said Harry as he let go of Kingsley's hand. "You must be Kingsley Shacklebolt."
Kingsley chortled. "Indeed he has. And yes I am."
Harry then shook hands with Bill, who like Sirius, he was surprised to see.
"Got a few days off," answered Bill to Harry's question, grinning. "Just came here to see Charlie and to visit Hogwarts. Maybe see if I can lend a hand to just about anything as well. How are you?"
"Never better, Bill. How're your parents?"
"They're good. Mom and dad sent you their regards, Harry. Mom especially misses you, you know."
Harry smiled. "I miss her too. Send them my regards when you get back, Bill."
"Sure thing, Harry."
The meeting began once every attendee took their seat. Kingsley laid out the security plan for everyone to see. Using the meticulously constructed map of the First Task arena, he talked about the arrangement for VIPs entrances, security personnel, and dragon keepers' placements and possible security loopholes that need to be addressed.
"We wouldn't worry about the area around the dragon's enclosure and the gate where the dragons will enter the arena," he said, pointing towards the map. "That area will be under the keepers' jurisdiction. They know what to do."
"Charlie told me additional safety and security measures will be implemented regarding the dragons. They will also erect an invisible shield surrounding the arena to protect the spectators just in case the dragons run amok," Bill added.
Kingsley nodded. "The keepers going overboard in regard of everyone's safety and security is very much welcome in this instance. This is the first time in more than a century we're doing this. We have no idea what will happen. If I being honest, I'll call everything off if I'm in charge. Letting the students face a dragon is a stupid and the most dangerous idea ever."
"And what about Harry?" Sirius asked.
"The minister personally asked Harry to join other Aurors in guarding the VIP box. I guess that's where Harry would be stationed during the First Task," said Kingsley. "Harry, would you agree with this arrangement?"
Harry nodded. "I'll do it."
"Good."
Harry had been enjoying a cordial relationship with Minister Fudge especially after the defeat of Peter Pettigrew. That could be the reason why Cornelius Fudge wanted him around during the First Task, he concluded. But the manifested reaction other attendees within the office displayed proved that something wasn't right and Harry could see and feel it. Dumbledore looked grim. Sirius, Remus, and Kingsley look worried. Even Snape went silent.
"The arrangement should be fine, right?" Harry asked.
Sirius concocted a smile which to Harry's eyes was not very assuring. "Yes, the arrangement is fine, Harry. You are going to guard the Minister. It's a privilege."
Kingsley quickly changed the subject before Harry could say anything else. He began addressing additional matters that had yet been given attention.
The meeting ended fifteen minutes before eleven pm.
Bill, Remus, and Sirius were escorting Harry back to the Gryffindor Tower. Along the way, Sirius and Bill were talking jovially about their days as the students at Hogwarts. They were teasing each other about the girls they hooked up with during their time at Hogwarts among other things. Remus meanwhile just shook his head at them both. He leaned towards Harry and whispered, "And I will be the one who had to clean up Sirius's mess. I am so glad that James sticks only to your mother despite his reputation."
Harry mentioned to Sirius about his letter to him.
"Oh, I got your letter alright. I haven't got around to reply it but guess what? I'm bringing Kathrin to the Yule Ball!"
Harry's eyes widened. "What?! You can't do that! Is Kathrin even allowed to visit Hogwarts?"
"She already knows much about our world even before I met her and now she's my girlfriend. Of course, she would be allowed to enter Hogwarts that night, Harry," said Sirius, grinning madly.
"But I already told everyone that I'm going back to London for Christmas!"
"Then I guess you'll just have to 'untold' them. Come on, Harry. The Yule Ball would be fun and we still get to celebrate Christmas together. I very much expect you'll bring a date to the Yule Ball. Kathrin and I already made a bet, you know."
"That would not be easy, Sirius."
Indeed, for the past few weeks, Harry had been bragging about the wonderful time he would have in London during Christmas. He truly didn't care about going to the Yule Ball. The prospect of actually having to care about the damn Ball didn't make him happy.
"Sure it is," said Sirius nonchalantly. "Just tell them that had been a change in your plan. They will understand."
Harry could only shake his head.
The Fat Lady freaked out the moment she saw Sirius coming towards her. She had yet forgotten what Sirius did to her nearly a year ago. Sirius tried to apologize to her but she refused to accept. It took a while for Remus to calm her down.
"Fine! Just make that lunatic stand as far away from me as possible," she said to Remus in a huff. She then turned to Harry and spoke, "You're not to divulge the entrance password to any of these people, you hear me? Or I will have you sleep outside the Tower from this night onwards."
"They would not know the password, I can assure you that," said Harry. "And Sirius isn't a danger to anyone. Not anymore. Otherwise, he won't be here with us. He's my godfather if you must know. I won't be his godson if he tries to harm or murder me. You probably heard his story by now. He meant you no harm."
The Fat Lady calmed down a little bit when she heard this. She however remained unconvinced. "He should have shown that courtesy back then. He should have known that only students and the Head of Houses could enter the common room. It's not easy to forget the memory of someone coming to you and try to stab you."
"I understand but he's here to protect this castle and everyone in it, not to harm it or any of us. He wouldn't be asking for your forgiveness if he has ulterior motives. Please, give him a chance. I trust him. These people in front of you trust him. You can trust him."
The Fat Lady went silent, thinking. It took her a while, but she finally nodded at Sirius, signifying that she finally forgave him.
"Thank you," said Sirius, feeling quite a relief. "I assure you that it won't happen again."
"I hope so," replied the Fat Lady. "I remembered the four of you fondly. You were my favorite, you know."
Sirius smiled. "I hope I can be one once again."
Bill gave Harry a pat on his back and mouthed 'Well done' to him.
It was time for Remus, Sirius, and Bill to leave. Bill told Harry that he would be staying at Hagrid's cabin until the First Task together with Charlie.
Sirius placed his hands on Harry's shoulder and spoke, "Don't worry. We'll be close by when the day comes."
"I'm not. But I'm still fuming, Sirius."
Sirius just chuckled.
Remus gave Harry a nod and together with Sirius and Bill, they took leave.
Thursday came.
Harry woke up early before everyone else. He took a shower and began donning the Auror uniform Kingsley Shacklebolt gave him that night before the meeting adjourned.
"This is too big for me. I can't wear it," said Harry when Kingsley handed the adult-sized uniform to him.
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Did you hit your head or something? You're a wizard, Harry. Use the Shrinking Spell."
It took him multiple tries with the help of his dorm mates to change the uniform's size to one that would suit him. At one point, he accidentally shrunk the uniform so much that it could only fit Crookshanks, Hermione's cat.
Harry admired his reflection in a mirror. The suit certainly fit him very nicely and he looked really handsome in it. He then made his way down to the still vacant common room, took out his broom, and headed for the exit. Classes were canceled that day to allow everyone to watch the First Task so everyone had a lie-in.
He met Remus at the Entrance Hall and together, they flew towards the arena. Bill, Sirius, and Charlie were already waiting for them.
Overnight, the dragon keepers moved the dragon cages towards an area situated beside the arena. A huge gate built at one of the tangent points of the oval-shaped arena would be where the dragons made their entrance and exit. Two entrances built at the opposite of the oval arc would be where the champions enter the arena. Several escape doors were built at strategic locations as well to allow the champions to escape should things get too dangerous for them. In the middle of the arena, an artificial dragon nest was constructed. An invisible shield that covered the arena had been erected during the night. Harry could see it shimmering against the morning sunlight.
By this time, Harry already knew what the champions needed to do. Two champions would face a dragon at the same time. They needed to rescue two golden eggs, one for each champion, from the nesting dragon's clutches. Points would be given on how well and how quick they executed the rescue attempt. Points would be taken away if the golden eggs suffer damage. Judges would comprise high-level ministry officials from nations that joined the International Wizarding Tournament. The initial plan of allowing school headmasters to be the judges was scrap to avoid favoritism.
In all honesty, Harry wasn't sure how well that would work.
Harry and the rest had their breakfast at the arena, courtesy of The Three Broomsticks Inn. He silently admitted that Madam Rosmetta's cooking was quite good. If she was the one who did the cooking that is. The Full Scottish Breakfast and the Scottish Porridge were particularly delicious. The hot tea tasted good too.
The weather gave its utmost cooperation that day. The sun shone through the very few cloud covers. The morning was pleasantly warm.
Students and spectators began to fill up the huge arena at quarter past nine. Sirius told Harry that all the accommodations at Hogsmeade were fully booked since the last weekend. Just like the Quidditch World Cup, the International Wizarding Tournament attracted the attention of many wizards and witches throughout the world.
In the meantime, Harry continued patrolling the area. He hung out with Charlie for quite some time and joined Hagrid in marveling at the dragons. He resumed his patrol after that and at one point arrived at the champions' tent.
Cedric would already be inside the tent, he thought. All champions would arrive early for last-minute briefing and preparation.
One good thing about being part of the security team was that he gained full access to just about anywhere within the arena. He decided to enter the tent to see how Cedric was holding up.
The tent was divided into compartments and each compartment contained a camping cot bed and a small round table. White curtains separated those compartments. Except for one compartment at the farthest side of the tent where its curtain was close, Harry could see the champions sitting inside them and Cedric was one of them. Harry gave the champions a nod as he walked towards Cedric.
Cedric was sitting on his bed, staring at his feet when Harry approached him. He looked rather pale and clammy. His fist clenched and unclenched many times as he tried to compose himself.
"Hey, Cedric."
Cedric looked up and was surprised to see Harry standing in front of him. He was even more surprised to see Harry adorning the Auror uniform.
"Harry! You look good. What are you doing here?" he said.
"Doing my job. How are you feeling, Cedric?" said Harry as he sat beside Cedric.
"Fine... I guess," said Cedric, chuckling nervously. "But between you and me, I have to say I'm beginning to regret putting my name in the goblet."
"Now don't say that. The Goblet of Fire chose you out of many for reasons. I'm sure it won't choose you if it thinks you're unworthy. Just be calm. Don't panic. We have people on standby just in case things go awry. Go out there and do your best and nobody will think any the worse of you. You have all of our support," Harry assured Cedric.
They both continued to talk. In the end, Cedric became a lot calmer than before.
"Thank you, Harry. You've been a very good friend," said Cedric in appreciation.
Harry smiled and patted Cedric on his back. He then excused himself and went to greet other champions. Viktor Krum and Balondemu Mbabazi looked surly as ever. They both didn't talk to Harry at all. But they did shake hands with him. Derek on the other hand was his usual self.
"I told my dad about the First Task. He told me if I survive it, he's buying me a pickup truck. That is quite an incentive, eh? My mom on the other hand has completely lost her mind," said Derek, chuckling nervously.
"You'll be fine and your mother will be fine too. Don't worry about it, Derek," said Harry.
"Yeah, I hope so. That pickup truck will be a huge upgrade over my old rear-drive Toyota hatchback I'm currently driving. Hopefully, he'll buy me a Silverado. You should visit McAllen someday, Harry. There isn't much to see in that small Texas town but we do have Walmart."
"Maybe I will. Thanks, Derek."
Harry went on to speak to Adrianna and Khristina to calm their nerves. Like Cedric, both girls were panicking. Khristina went on to hug Harry as a sign of appreciation. Harry was surprised to see Michiko there. The girl beamed at him when she saw him.
"How is she?" asked Harry, nodding towards Nozomi.
Nozomi at that time was sitting cross-legged on her bed. Her eyes were firmly closed. It looked like she was meditating or something.
"She's fine, albeit a little bit nervous," said Michiko. She then looked up and down at Harry. "You look very dashing in those, Harry-san."
Harry looked down towards his uniform. "Really?"
Michiko nodded and smiling. "You look handsome. I think the Koldovstoretz champion has a crush on you."
Indeed, through the corner of his eyes, Harry could see Khristina was staring wistfully at him.
"It's a pity that you're not going to the Yule Ball, Harry-san," Michiko continued.
Harry had no idea how to respond to that.
Their conversation was cut short when Professor Lupin together with Ludo Bagman and several ministry officials entered the tent.
"Harry! Good old-boy! How have you been?" greeted Ludo Bagman. Bagman extended his hand towards Harry and they both shook hands.
"Fine, sir," Harry replied as he let go of Bagman's hand.
"Good," said Bagman brightly. He then looked around towards the champions and said, "Well, please gather around everyone. Is this all?"
The question of who inhabited the closed compartment was finally answered. The white curtain flew open and out came Fleur and, much to Harry's surprise, Daphne.
The two girls were surprised to see him as well. Daphne immediately looked away and down towards her feet the moment she saw him.
There was no exchange of words happened between the three of them however as Bagman started his briefing. Harry took a few steps back and with his hands clasped behind his back, he stood rigidly and silently watched the proceeding.
He didn't look at Daphne and Fleur at all throughout the proceeding but from the corner of his eyes, he could see Daphne glancing at him every now and then.
And so did Fleur.
The briefing soon ended. The straws had been drawn. Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro would be the first to face the dragons.
"You will be needed at the VIP box, Harry. The minister and the rest of the dignitaries will be arriving soon," said Remus.
Harry silently nodded and after throwing a brief smile at Fleur and Daphne, he exited the tent.
Little he realized that something had gone wrong.
To be continued...
A/n: Plot holes will only be a problem if the writer fails to address them by the end of the story. Nothing makes sense in the world of Harry Potter but we love it anyway. Btw, I'm planning to have Harry date either Professor Sprout or Madam Pince. To Flowerpot and Haphne fans, sorry y'all.
