In the days following the selection of the champions, the school was abuzz with the new "war" between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. After the Gryffindor's first strike, the Hufflepuffs had retaliated the following day by turning the hair, clothes and skin of the Gryffindors in Hufflepuff colours. The House of the badger had a great laugh. To their surprise, the Lions had also been amused, thinking their attack was mild at best. This had enraged the Hufflepuffs, who promised something far worse.
On that same day, rumours that Draco Malfoy had been caught trying to rape a younger girl travelled through the castle at lightning speed. Nobody apart from Sarah, Harry and Nathalie knew the truth – Sarah having confided in her best friend. Ron and Hermione had learned the day after what had happened when Hermione asked about it during a training session.
"Harry – do you know who Malfoy attacked? Rumours say you were the one to stop him."
Harry froze. His fist clenched around his deactivated lightsaber at the reminder of what had almost happened. Taking a deep breath, he turned and answered. "I know who it was – but that person wish to keep their involvement private." he said.
"It's okay, Harry." said Sarah quietly, making the three teenagers look at her. She was looking down to her feet, not meeting their eyes.
"Sarah..." tried Harry.
"No – it's fine." she said before she looked up at Hermione, a look of determination in her blue eyes. "I was the one Malfoy attacked." she said without stuttering or hesitating.
Hermione gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Ron looked shocked too.
"Are you..."
Sarah shook her head. "He didn't do anything to me." said the redhead. "Harry stopped him before he could even touch me."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief before she proceeded to give a hug to the smaller girl. After the practice session was over, Hermione gave her own personal thanks to Harry for saving Sarah, who she had begun to see as the younger sibling she never had.
It had now been a week since the selection of the champions and Harry was happily walking away from the dungeons with Colin Creevey when they were suddenly hexed in the back, making him feel like Dudley had punched him on his spine.
"What the-!" exclaimed Harry with a pained gasp, drawing his wand and turning around. His eyes narrowed when he found three six year Hufflepuffs. Seeing this, Colin also kept his wand at the ready. "What do you want?" asked Harry.
The 'leader' – or so Harry assumed – scowled. "We want to show you want happen when-"
Harry interrupted him. "-When I cheat in the Tournament." he finished mockingly. "You're so predictable." The three Hufflepuffs raised their wands and so did Harry and Colin. Harry was just about to conjure a shield to block the first volley when a loud voice stopped them.
"What is going on here?!" came the voice of Cedric Diggory. Harry let out a small sigh of relief, knowing the Hufflepuff of Hufflepuffs wouldn't let his fellow badgers get away with it. "Williams – Barronline – Hammond, stand down!" he ordered.
"Why, Cedric?" said one of the Hufflepuffs. "We just want to put this cheater in his place! We're defending our champion – our house!"
"No, you're a shame to Hufflepuff!" barked Cedric, putting himself in front of the three shocked boys. "We have always prided ourselves in being loyal and kind – yet here you are hexing a Hogwarts student because of something out of his control?! You're acting like Slytherins bigots, not Hufflepuffs! Now get away from Harry!"
The lead Hufflepuff bully hesitated for a few seconds but a glare from Cedric made him huff and turn around. His two friends followed him.
"Thanks, Cedric." said Harry. Colin added a nod to show he agreed.
"You shouldn't have had to thank me." said Cedric dryly before he sighed. "I feel like my house move away from its true purpose and meaning every single day. It's disheartening."
"I'm sorry." winced Harry.
"It's not your fault." said Cedric as he began unconsciously leading them toward the room where the Weighting of the Wands ceremony took place. "I can't even blame whoever put your name in the Goblet of Fire. Really, we badgers can only blame ourselves for the way we lead each other astray."
Harry and Cedric didn't talk much on the way to the ceremony. Harry said goodbye to Colin right before the two champions entered the room.
"Ah – there they are!" exclaimed someone who Harry recognized as Ludo Bagman. "The two Hogwarts champions are here!"
Many heads turned toward them, one of which Harry did not want to meet. By the greedy look in her eyes and the quill and the piece of parchment she had floating near her, it was obvious she was a reporter – and not a respectable one at that. The reporter, who had been speaking with an annoyed-looking Krum when they arrived, immediately made her way toward Harry and Cedric, her photographer following behind her slightly panting.
"Our dear champions!" she said. "I wonder, may I have a little word with Harry before we begin?" she asked. Before Harry could even give a coherent answer, she added "Lovely!", grabbed his arm and began leading him toward a broom cupboard.
"Wait a minute." said Cedric, placing himself in front of the reporter. "Harry did not agree to be interviewed in private. If you want to ask questions, you will have to do it here." he said, putting a protective hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Certainly." said the reporter, sounding slightly put-out. "Well, Mr. Potter – may I call you Harry? - Harry, what made you decide to enter the Triwizard Tournament?"
"Er-" Harry wanted to deny the accusation but he was distracted by the reporter's bright green quill, which was writing on the parchment.
The charming face of the fourth champion seemed to fill up with guilt at the question, telling without words the answer was 'yes' -
"Hold on!" he exclaimed, outraged. "I didn't enter my name!"
"Come on, Harry." said the reporter. "Our readers love a rebel! Your achievements would make the front page!"
"I don't want to make the front page – and I didn't enter my name in contention!"
Cedric took over. "Since you seem more interested in furthering your own narrative, Miss Skeeter, this interview is over." he said before he led Harry toward the other champions. As they walked away, Harry overheard the reporter mutter to herself.
"The Hufflepuff Champion is taking the place of the Boy-Who-Lived's personal manager? Interesting!"
"Ignore her, Harry." said Cedric, rolling his eyes. "Rita Skeeter it a lot of trouble. I witnessed her misquote my dad multiple times the few times she interviewed him in the function of his job at the Ministry. She will do what she believe is necessary to tell her own story, not the truth. Thankfully, not all the Daily Prophet reporters are like that."
"Why didn't they send someone else?"
Cedric sighed. "Unfortunately, Skeeter's scandalous articles sell a lot of papers." he said as they reached their fellow champions.
"Nice of you to show up." said Fleur jokingly. "We've been waiting for the last half-hour!"
"I only learned this ceremony was a thing fifteen minutes ago, Fleur. Give me a break." Harry returned with his own smirk.
At this moment, Albus Dumbledore entered the room. He was followed by someone Harry easily recognized.
"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" he said to the room as he and Garrick walked toward the centre of the room. "He is the leading wandmaker in Britain and will be checking the champions' wands today to ensure that they are in good condition." he said.
"Yes – yes." said Bagman. "Gather around Mr. Ollivander, champions." The champions did as they were told.
"Let's start with you, shall we, Mademoiselle Delacour?" said Garrick, looking at the Veela. Fleur nodded and gave him her wand. "Hmmm..." he muttered, looking at the wand very attentively. "Interesting. Very interesting. Nine and a half inches..." He tried to bend the wand. "Inflexible... rosewood..." He brought the wand to his ear almost like a telephone. "And containing – dear me...!"
"A Veela hair. It's from my grandmother." said Fleur.
"Yes." said Garrick, bringing the wand back in his field of view. "A very interesting combination. Not one I would usually go. I do not like working with Veela hair as they make... temperamental wands. However, if it works for you..." he finished before he conjured a bouquet of flowers. Satisfied, he passed the wand back to a scowling Fleur Delacour. Apparently, she had not liked the comment about her wand core.
"Now, what about you, Gospodin Krum?" said Garrick. Viktor leaned the wand, allowing the old wandmaker to take a look at it. "Interesting..." he said quietly, looking at the wand. "It is a creation from Gregorovitch, is it not?"
"Yes." answered Viktor.
Garrick hummed. He repeated the same motions as he had when he inspected Fleur's wand, commentating along the way. "Hornbeam and dragon heartstring... thicker than a usual wand and very rigid... Avis!" he exclaimed. Like the blast of a gun, the wand shot a volley of small, twittering birds which quickly fled the room by the nearest window. "It is in good working condition." he nodded before giving the wand back to the Quidditch star.
"Now, Mr. Diggory." said Garrick, extending the palm of his hand toward the Hufflepuff. Without hesitating, Cedric gave him his wand. "Ah... this is one of mine! I remember the history of this wand before I sold it. The unicorn hair inside came from a fine but irritable male who nearly gored me with its horn." he said, making Harry and Dumbledore chuckle. Meanwhile, Cedric looked at his own wand with rapt attention, very interested in its history. "The wood from the wand came from an ash tree I found during my travels in Asia. It then proceeded to stay in my shop for nearly two decades before it finally found it's owner... I can feel your wand is very happy with you... You treat it regularly?"
"Polished it last night!" grinned Cedric proudly. Harry snorted rather loudly, trying to reign in his laughter.
Mischievously, Garrick said "Yes... a regularly polished wand is a wand that work wonders!" Harry had to block his mouth with his arm to stop his laughter from escaping. Rolling her eyes, Fleur elbowed him in the ribs to stop him from laughing.
"Mr. Potter!" suddenly exclaimed Garrick, shutting Harry up and making him stand straighter. "It is your turn, I believe."
"Right." said Harry, giving him his wand – which he had also polished the previous night. During the summer, Garrick had given him tips on treating a wand after realizing Harry had never done so. Of course, he wasn't about to do the same as Cedric and shout it loudly in the room while wearing a massive grin on his face.
"Ah... yes. Yes – yes – yes. How well I remember when I sold this wand..." said the wandmaker. Harry also remembered and hoped Garrick wouldn't tell everyone about the fact he owned the brother-wand to Voldemort's. "Holly, phoenix feather... eleven inches long... nice and supple... A fine wand for a fine wizard." he said. "As I said when I first sold it, I believe you will amount to great things, Mr. Potter." Harry gave a nod before he took back his wand. Garrick was not quite done yet, though. "Tell me, Mr. Potter. Have you discovered any more colours?"
It took Harry a few moments to understand what the wandmaker was asking. Grinning, he answered. "Blue, Green and Yellow. However, we only got one of each so we have yet to discover their meaning."
"Interesting... very interesting..." said Garrick, leaning back, his face pensive. It was a contrast to everyone else's bafflement at the exchange Harry and Garrick just had. Nobody apart from them knew what it meant.
"Well..." said Bagman. "I believe it is time for photographs!"
Harry groaned.
The photo-shoot ended-up taking another half-hour, to the despair of the champions. It was a half-hour filled with discrete fighting where the head of schools tried to have their champions shown prominently – Skeeter and Bagman tried to have Harry in front – Skeeter's photographer tried to have Fleur as the main subject and where none of the champions were cooperating, none wanting to be the main subject of the pictures. In the end, it was a very tired quartet who left the room before going in their own directions.
"Huh – Harry? Can you look at this?" said Ron, frowning at the letter he was currently holding. They – along with Hermione – had been working on their Charms homework late after curfew when an owl had knocked on the window of the common room. After Harry had let it inside, the owl had flown toward Ron and gave its letter. Harry had just enough time to sit back in front of his homework before Ron called him.
"Sure." he answered, grabbing the letter. "Who is it from?"
"Charlie." answered Ron. Harry nodded and began reading the letter.
Dear Ron,
How has Hogwarts been so far? Your year must be exciting so far with the Triwizard Tournament!
I would have a hard time concentrating for classes while I was waiting for the First Task.
I'm still in England currently, taking part in some important business for the reserve, though I do miss the dragons.
I'm still residing at the Burrow, something I'm not sure I'm entirely happy about. Don't get me wrong, I love Mum but, sometimes, I feel like she's still a nesting mother!
Staying in Mum's clutches is entirely worth it, I will say. While I can't say much because of restricting oaths, our current assignment is a huge opportunity for the reserve! If everything goes right, we might get many more lucrative jobs! It remind me of that muggle expression, something about gooses and golden eggs?
I hope you don't believe your workload to be too much or too hard as you will have a hard time dealing with your O.W.L.s next year. Thankfully, you have your friends with you. I always found that studying with my friends made it much easier to learn and remember while I was at school. You should tell Harry that.
Anyway, I'll wrap up this letter. I hope you and your friends are having a good time at Hogwarts. I sure wish I was still a student with everything going on! Be careful though, alright? If someone like Malfoy decide to give you trouble, a word of advice: the eyes can be a great weakness to exploit.
Love,
Charlie.
"That great, but why did you want me to read it?" asked Harry after he had finished it.
"Don't you think it feels a little... cryptic?" asked Ron.
"Now that you mention it..." said Harry. "I think you're right, but I can't see what hidden message there could be."
"Why don't we just ask Hermione, then?" proposed Ron.
"Sure, it's your letter." said Harry with a shrug. So, Ron and Harry dragged their female friend's attention from her book before explaining their theory. Then, Harry gave the letter and Hermione began reading it. She frowned after the first reading and read it a second time. Then, it was almost as if a light-bulb at just lit as she began reading it again though much faster, almost as if she was skipping parts of the letter. As she did so, her expression changed to fear as her skin paled.
"My god..." she whispered, sounding terrified.
"Hermione?" asked Ron, concerned.
"You were right. There was a hidden message behind the letter. You have to put the last words of each line together to understand it. Listen:" she said as she pointed at the end of each line. "'Triwizard Tournament' – 'First Task' – 'Dragons' – 'Nesting Mother' – 'Golden Eggs' – 'You should tell Harry that' – 'The eyes can be a great weakness to exploit'!"
"You mean... I have to fight a dragon?" said Harry, looking at his two pale friends.
"I'm not sure." said Hermione, biting her lower lips. "Charlie mentioned golden eggs and nesting mothers."
"Meaning Harry will have to get a golden egg from the nest of a mother dragon?" said Ron. Hermione nodded.
"Great... just great..." said Harry, pinching his nose. He'd already been worried about the Tournament and now he was learning that he would have to attempt to grab something from the nest of a mother dragon! It was completely crazy!
Hermione evidently agreed with his thoughts as she suddenly exclaimed. "But – I can't understand! Why would they do that!? Dumbledore said that the Tournament would be safer than in the past!"
"Safety has always been overrated in the magical world, Hermione." said Harry. "Are you really surprised they would send teenagers to confront a dragon?"
"No but... arg!" she burst, looking like she wanted to tear her hair off. "Damn them! Damn them for doing such a dangerous task!"
Harry was too worried about the upcoming task to get shocked at Hermione's language. He was trying to think of multiple solutions to get through the task. Any he came up with were to risky or prone to failure. He just wasn't sure what to do.
"I wonder how I could even go through the task. I mean, I can't even bring my lightsaber with me! All I'll have is my wand."
"At least Charlie gave us a clue." said Hermione. "He told us the eyes were a weakness. If you can fire a spell on them, you might be able to blind – or at least distract – the dragon."
"Yeah, but it could also destroy the eggs." he replied grumpily. It was not something he was willing to let happen. He was sure it would cost him points and give him a lower position in the standings.
"I might have a solution to your lightsaber problem." said Ron, making his two friends look at him in curiosity. "All you are allowed when you begin the task is your wand, right?" Harry nodded. "Well, why don't you simply give your lightsaber to Hermione or I? Then, all you would have to do is use your wand and summon it with the charm Professor Flitwick is teaching us."
"Ron, you're a genius!" exclaimed Hermione before she hugged the redhead. Blushing like mad, Ron answered with a stutter. "I-Its k-known to happ-ppen s-sometimes." he said. Harry stifled a chuckle, seeing how bad his friend had it for Hermione.
"Then I need to learn the summoning charm before the First Task – and fast."
"I'll help you." said Hermione instantly.
Harry smiled to his loyal friend. "I know."
The next morning, Harry and his friends walked down to the Great Hall early. During their walk down the castle, Hermione brought Sarah to speed about Charlie's letter and their discovery of the First Task. Sarah took it in stride, simply saying that she believed Harry would win it easily. Harry did not have the heart to tell her otherwise.
Hermione also explained Ron's idea to summon the lightsaber using the summoning charm, something that had surprised the smaller redhead.
"Why not simply summon it using the runes on it?" she asked, referring to the runes Harry had added that allowed a lightsaber owner to call their lightsaber back to their hand without using a wand.
"I'll most likely be out of range." answered Harry, entering the conversation. "These runes only work if the lightsaber is less than fifty feet from you, and I doubt very much Hermione will be sitting this close." he said. He had decided before going to sleep that Hermione would be the one to hold his lightsaber before the task.
Breakfast was an anxious affair as Harry went time and time again in his mind over various half-formed plans. The majority were discarded almost as soon as he came up with them as they were unfeasible. The only working ideas he came up with that had a chance of working involved the summoning charm in one way or another, a result of asking himself 'What else can I summon?'.
As he was thinking, he noticed the Beauxbatons students enter the Great Hall before they went to sit at the Ravenclaw table. Harry easily spotted Fleur among the students, who turned and gave him a smile and a wave of the hand. Harry returned the wave. Then, suddenly, a thought hit him.
'The other champions don't know about the task!'
Harry immediately shot to his feet. At his friends' questioning looks, he simply said "I have to talk to the champions." before he walked away.
When he reached the Ravenclaw table, he immediately went where Fleur was sitting. "Fleur, I need to speak to you urgently – as in yesterday." he blurted. Looking both curious and worried, Fleur nodded and, after a few words to her friends, followed Harry out of the Great Hall. Once they were alone, Harry immediately told her about the First Task.
"Fleur, I know what the First Task is." he said, making her look at him with wide eyes. "We will have to grab a golden egg from the nest of a mother dragon."
"H-How do you know?" she stuttered, looking pale.
"Charlie Weasley – Ron's brother – work for a dragon reserve in Romania. He's currently in England because of 'business' and while he couldn't tell us anything specific, he was able to leave clues in a letter to warn us about the task." he explained.
"Putain..." sighed Fleur. "Putain d'merde..." Then, she looked at him with worried eyes. "How are you taking this? You're younger than us. I doubt I would be able to complete the Task at your age..." she said before wincing.
"Don't worry about me, Fleur." said Harry with confidence he did not feel. "I have a... 'secret weapon', so to speak. In the worse case scenario where I can't complete the task, I'll have it to save myself."
"A secret weapon?" asked Fleur, an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"
"Well it wouldn't be secret if I just told anyone, would it?" he smirked, making the older girl smile. "Just know that it's what I used to save you and your sister at the World Cup."
"Can you tell me one day? I've always been mighty curious about how you saved us that night."
Harry considered it for a moment. Should he tell anyone else about his lightsabers? On one hand, he wanted to keep it as secret as possible and the more he told people, more likely it was that it would be uncovered. On the other hand, having lightsabers would help his fellow champions during the Tasks and, really, who else could he thrust better with a lightsaber than the best of the best of Europe? Eventually, after a few moments, he answered. "How about I tell you after the First Task?" he said. "You and the other champions."
"Thank you." said Fleur gratefully.
Just before she departed, Harry added "If you see the other champions, can you tell them about the Task as well?"
"Of course." smiled Fleur. Then, she left, leaving Harry alone. He stood there for a few minutes thinking about the First Task before he suddenly heard the bells. "Oh crap." he blurted before he ran out of the room, realizing he was late for class. Hermione would kill him.
Unfortunately for Harry, the First Task arrived quicker than he had wanted. Despite all the time he had spent in the Room of Requirement simulating the First Task, he still held doubts on whether or not he would come back in one piece.
"Just eat something, Harry." sighed Hermione as she put two buttered toasts on his plate. Harry looked back at her with tired eyes, having been unable to sleep much the previous night.
"Eat, Harry... please." added Sarah. Unable to deny his two female best friends, Harry simply sighed and took a bite of his toast. The toast was not appetizing, feeling like sandpaper in his mouth. He swallowed with difficulty. "There, you see? It's not that hard." said Sarah softly, rubbing his forearm in a comforting motion.
"I'm just not hungry." sighed Harry. "I already don't eat much in the mornings but now with the First Task coming?" he said, shaking his head.
If he was honest with himself, Harry did not know how to feel about the First Task. It confused him. He was very anxious and was scared of failing but, at the same time, he wasn't scared of getting hurt. It would make one assume that he was simply afraid of being humiliated but, then again, it wasn't the case. He didn't know what he was scared off, just that he was. He really couldn't explain it.
Too quickly for Harry's taste, the food on the table vanished. It relieved Harry for a few seconds (as he didn't want to be forced into eating again) before Professor McGonagall showed up.
"Mr. Potter? It is time for the champions to come down onto the grounds to get ready for the First Task." said the professor.
"Okay." said Harry, standing up. Across the Hall, he could see his fellow champions talking to their school heads (or in Cedric's case, house head) before they also raised to their feet. Seeing this, the students began cheering. At his table, the Gryffindors began yelling his name in unison. "Potter! Potter! Potter!"
Feeling better and braver, he leaned down toward Hermione. Before he even had time to speak, Hermione answered his question. "Yes, I have it with me." she said.
"Thank you." said Harry with relief.
"Now go and follow Professor McGonagall, and good luck!" said Hermione as Harry did just that.
The cheers became muffled as he and the Gryffindor Head of House exited the Hall. Before they exited the castle, the professor led him toward a room and gave him his uniform, one he had asked specifically for the task.
A few days after the Weighting of the Wands ceremony, Harry had gone to Professor Dumbledore to ask about whether the champions would wear uniforms or not during the Tasks. Dumbledore had assured him that it would indeed be the case and that Harry would receive one in Gryffindor colours the day of the First Task. The Headmaster had been surprised when Harry had instead asked for a different design, one without the house colours. Still, since he was technically not the Hogwarts champion, he couldn't be forced to wear a Hogwarts uniform so, in the end, he had gotten his wish. Not that Dumbledore had fought him over it once Harry had explained his decision. The old man had simply been amused.
Harry quickly changed into his all black uniform wondering who other than his closest friends would recognize it. When he exited, he saw Professor McGonagall look at him with surprise. "Where is your uniform, Mr. Potter?" she asked.
"It is." answered Harry, looking the black robes he was wearing. "Professor Dumbledore approved them."
"If you say so." said McGonagall. "Though I had hoped you would wear Gryffindor colours today."
"Sorry." Harry shrugged.
After that, they quickly exited the castle. Along the way, McGonagall began to talk again, sounding a lot more nervous all of the sudden. Harry wasn't sure who her words were supposed to reassure. Him or herself?
"Now, there is no need to panic... there will be wizards to control the situation if it gets... out of hands. Just... just keep a cool head, alright? As long as you do your best, nobody will hold it against you." she said. Harry wasn't sure about that last sentence but feel better none-the-same. Once they arrived at the tent before the arena built specifically for the task, Professor McGonagall continued "You just need to join your fellow champions, Mr. Potter. Mr. Bagman will join you and tell you the procedure." Harry nodded and moved to enter. He stopped when the Professor added something. "Just... Harry... please be careful, okay?" she pleaded.
Harry looked back at his Head of House with surprise. While he had known Professor McGonagall wanted the best for her students, he had never heard such care and worry in her voice before. "I will." said Harry with a nod before he entered the tent.
He immediately spotted the three champions and Bagman standing in the middle of the tent. Fleur sent him a small wave of the hand, which made Bagman realize he was there. "Harry! Good-o!" he exclaimed, waving him to come closer. "Come in! Come in! Make yourself at home, my boy!" he said.
Harry joined the other champions who looked as anxious as he was. Bagman – ever the cheerful – continued speaking. "Know that you are all here, I believe it is time to fill you in!" said the man. "While the audience assemble over us, I will offer you this bag here-" he said, indicating the purple bag in his hand. "from which you will each select the model of the thing you are about to face."
"Dragons." blurted Cedric.
Bagman looked at the Hufflepuff with shock. "You k-know?" he stuttered. Then he looked at the faces of the other three champions and noticed they didn't appear surprised at all. "You all know?"
"Fleur told me." said Viktor curtly.
"And Harry told me." said Fleur.
"Same for me." said Cedric, giving Harry a friendly pat on the back.
"I figured out the Task because someone gave me clues." said Harry when Bagman had turned his eyes toward him.
"I see..." said Bagman before he recomposed himself. "Well, as you guessed, the bag contain different varieties of dragons. You will have to pick the one you will be confronting today." he said before he extended the bag toward Fleur. "Ladies first?"
With a slightly trembling hand, Fleur grabbed a figurine inside the bag. Then, it was Viktor's turn, then Cedric's. Harry finished by grabbing the last dragon. In the end, Fleur had gotten a green dragon with the number two, Viktor had a scarlet dragon with the number three and Cedric had a blue dragon with the number one. Finally, Harry had gotten a black dragon with spikes and the number four. He would be going last – and against the biggest dragon if the size of the figurines was anything to go by.
"Well, you all have your dragons. Now, you just need to wait until you hear the sound of a canon. It will tell you when it will be your turn to go. Now, good luck, champions!" said Bagman and, just like that, he was out of the tent.
Putting his dragon in his pocket, he went to sit on a nearby stool. He instinctively brought his hand to his hip to seek comfort from the presence of his lightsaber before remembering Hermione had it. He sighed.
"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Cedric, sitting to his left on another stool.
"I suppose. I'm just nervous." he said.
"Aren't we all." said Viktor, joining them along with Fleur. Fleur sat to Harry's right and took his hand in a comforting manner.
"Don't worry too much, Harry." said the Veela. "If you can defeat four Death Eaters in one spell, then I'm sure you will be able to go through the Task in one piece."
"Four Death Eaters in one spell?" repeated Cedric in both disbelief and awe. Viktor looked impressed as well.
"It wasn't a spell." corrected Harry. "It was something else."
"That just make me even more curious." said Fleur, chuckling.
"That makes me curious as well." said Cedric. Viktor nodded next to him.
"Like I said to Fleur, I plan to show you three after the Task."
"When?" asked Viktor.
Harry thought about it for a moment. "How about tomorrow? I doubt any of us will be left alone by our classmates after the Task is over."
"You're not wrong." said Cedric, chuckling. His amusement disappeared when they heard a canon go off. Gulping, Cedric raised on his feet.
"Good luck, Cedric." said Harry along with the other two champions.
"Good luck to you all as well." the Hufflepuff returned before he left the tent to confront his dragon.
Waiting felt like torture for Harry. In the tent, they could hear the commentary and the cheers of the crowds. The three champions listened in as Cedric transfigured a rock into a flock of wolves who all began harassing the dragon. About ten minutes after Cedric had left the tent, they heard the crowd gasp in horror, making them all freeze. They all let sigh of relief when Bagman explained that Cedric had walked close to the dragon's fire, which burned his arm slightly. Then, he exited the tent and the crowd went wild.
It took a few minutes before it was Fleur's turn to go. After wishing her good luck, Harry and Viktor listened in as Fleur went through her own task. From what they heard, Fleur used a combination of calming and sleeping spells along with her Veela allure to calm down the dragon and put it to sleep. She succeeded, but not before a small snort of fire from the dragon burned her leg and part of her skirt.
Then, it was Viktor's turn, leaving Harry all alone in the tent. Never had he felt so anxious as he waited for his own turn. When he heard the gasps of the crowd and Bagman's words about the destruction of the majority of the dragon's eggs, he winced. From what he could tell (he wasn't listening much at that point), Viktor had sent a curse at the dragon's eyes, causing it to become wild and crush her own eggs.
Then, finally, it was Harry's turn. The relief at not having to wait any longer was drowned by the fear he felt. Almost stumbling, he raised to his feet and followed the path the other champions had taken. Before long, he was standing in the corridor just before the entrance of the arena. Further away, he could see the legs of his dragon poke into view. Taking a deep breath, he took a few steps forward.
Up in the stands, Hermione was biting her nails. She had been terrified when she had seen the first three champions go through their dragons. When she had seen how big Harry's was, she had panicked.
"OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod."
"Hermione, snap out of it!" said Ron, shaking her. "Harry is entering the... hold on..." he stopped. "Is he..."
"-wearing Luke Skywalker's Jedi robes?" continued Sarah, making Hermione stare at her best friend. "I think he is."
Sarah was right. Hermione could see Harry standing at the entrance of the arena wearing the same clothes as Luke had at the beginning of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi when he was rescuing Han Solo. As if feeling her gaze, he turned to look toward them and gave them the same salute Luke had given before 'jumping' in the Sarlacc Pit. Seeing this, Hermione smiled, feeling slightly better. If Harry managed to make jokes in a time like this, then she believed everything would be alright.
Down in the arena, Harry turned back toward the dragon. "You are one big beast, are you?" he asked. As if understanding him, the dragon suddenly took a deep breath before it spit fire toward him. Eyes widening, Harry quickly ran behind a large rock just in time to see the fire pass where he had been standing seconds earlier. "You want to play? We'll play." he said before pointing his wand toward Hermione. "Accio Lightsaber!"
Harry noticed his lightsaber fly out of Hermione's lap and he caught it with his left hand. He quickly had to duck again as the dragon tried to burn down the lightsaber, most likely knowing he had just got something to help him. "Time for phase two." he said before pointing his wand toward the castle. "Accio Firebolt!" he yelled before ducking right back under the rock.
Harry waited. After a few seconds, he noticed a brown spec fly toward him. As it came closer, the spec became a broomstick. To his horror, just before it could reach him, the dragon shot its fire toward it. The broom disintegrated, sending ashes flying in his direction.
"Crap!" he blurted, hiding behind the rock. Now his Plan A was bust. His plan B involved sending a Conjunctivis Curse to the dragon just as Sirius as suggested in a letter but he decided to relegate it further down the lane. Not only was it what Viktor had done for his turn, but it had also resulted in the destruction of the majority of the eggs.
His plan C involved using his lightsaber. Not something he had been willing to do. Not only did it mean he would have to get very close to the dragon to be able to use the lightsaber, but it also meant he would reveal his secret in front of everyone. Unfortunately, he knew he had no other choice. He decided he would just have to go with it and, if he could, maybe only use his lightsaber in a way which would make other believe he had used a spell. It was better than nothing.
But first, he needed a distraction.
Deciding to take a page out of Cedric's book, Harry transfigured a few nearby rocks into animals. In difference of Cedric's plan, Harry decided to use bait as a distraction rather than a threat. He knew he was successful when he heard loud thumps, indicating the dragon was turning and walking toward his new preys. Harry used the opportunity to run toward another, bigger rock to the other side of the arena.
To his dismay, the dragon did not eat the sheep. Instead, it simply burned them to a crisp before it turned back to guard its nest. It was almost as if the dragon was keeping the food for later. That or it had known it was a bait all along.
Harry wanted to end the Task fast. He decided it was time to be bold. He repeated his action and transfigured even more sheep before waiting. When he heard the dragon begin to move, he looked up from behind the rock. He watched as the dragon turned. Once its back was facing him, Harry jumped out of his hiding spot – lightsaber in hand – and ran toward the dragon.
Gasps of shock could be heard across the arena as the spectators watched Harry run straight toward the dangerous dragon. The gasps were enough to alert the dragon that something was happening. It promptly and quickly turned around to face Harry. Seeing the dragon take a deep breath, Harry threw himself feet first at the ground and slid just in time for the flames to pass over him, burning a bit of his hair along the way. He quickly jumped back to his feet and continued to run.
He was now in lightsaber range of the dragon. Unfortunately, the dragon noticed this and tried to swipe him away with its right wing. An instant after realizing this, Harry summoned his lightsaber and activated it just in time to slice the wing in half. He immediately shut the lightsaber down as the dragon began roaring in pain, angry, tried to use its other wing to swipe Harry away. Almost rolling his eyes at the repeated mistake, he sliced the second wing into two, repeating his quick activating and deactivation of his lightsaber.
Then, as the dragon decided it would be better to eat him and be done with it, Harry used the opportunity to strike another attack. Just like he had done with the Basilisk two years earlier, Harry used his lightsaber and stabbed right through the roof of the mouth. The dragon froze for a moment before simply collapsing, dead. Harry shut down his purple lightsaber and reattached it to his belt before he calmly walked to the nest. The crowd watched in silence as Harry went toward the exit, golden egg in hand. Just before he crossed the gates, he turned toward the crowd and raised the egg.
The Gryffindor section immediately burst into cheers, followed by reluctant Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. As for the Hufflepuff section, it was completely quiet as it stared at Harry with terror. Smirking to himself, Harry walked out of the arena and entered the tent.
The first people he saw were Professor McGonagall and Hagrid. The later had tears on his cheeks, making Harry slightly regret his actions. He knew how much his big friend loved dragons and felt sorry he had to see this. McGonagall however simply looked relieved. "Great job, Mr. Potter!" she said. "Not the way I imagined it would happen but an excellent job none-the-less!"
"Thank you, Professor." said Harry as he continued to walk. He entered another tent where the champions were congregated. He could immediately tell they had watched his performance when they turned to look at him. Their faces were full of shock and awe.
"Now I see what Fleur meant by defeating four Death Eaters with one spell!" immediately said Cedric with a grin. "That was amazing!"
"Yes." said Viktor. "Only I injured it but I never came close to killing it. It was a good job, Harry."
"Yes – great job." said Fleur, looking lost for words.
"It wasn't a spell." repeated Harry as the flaps of the tent then opened again. Before Harry even had time to react, he was hit by a bushy-haired missile.
"Oh-Harry-I-was-so-worried-when-I-saw-the-Firebolt-burn! I-feared-you-were-toasted-and-that-you-would'nt-get-out-in-one-piece!" she said very quickly as she squeezed him very hard with her arms. Harry was surprised he even understood hear.
"Hermione, let the poor bloke breathe, will you?" said Ron with a grin. "Amazing job, mate!" he added to Harry.
"Yes, get out of the way, Hermione." said Sarah, comically standing a head smaller than the other three. "It's my turn to hug Harry!"
Reluctantly, Hermione let go and instead grabbed Ron between her arms. Harry would have laughed at Ron's expression if he hadn't been distracted by the petite redhead in front of him.
"I'm so glad you are safe." she said with a beaming smile.
"So am I." said Harry.
Unlike Hermione, Sarah did not try to blow the wind out of his windpipes with her arms. Instead, she brought her arms around him and gave him a soft, lasting hug. Harry felt his eyes close as he leaned down to her and rested his chin on her head. The hug allowed his heart to beat slower as he progressively calmed down in Sarah's arms. "This feel nice." he whispered to himself.
Unseen by him, Sarah grinned in his chest.