Chapter 4: The First Task and Growing Stronger
24 November 1994, The Great Hall, Harry sat with Hermione at lunch. He had told Cedric about the dragons. It seemed only fair as he was the only one that didn't know. Hermione was not surprised when he told her, about the dragons.
"Now, dragons understand Parselmouth. So, try to talk to it first. If that doesn't work, then summon your broom. You can try Moody's idea. I think you will not need to try and out-fly the dragon. Now, the Horntail is the most temperamental. If you get her, try to stay calm." She said going over the plan they made. Of course, the notes said he got the Horntail. Her older self only learned about dragons talking years after she left Hogwarts.
"Right, remain calm, there is only a giant lizard trying to make me a snack." He replied nervous.
"They only will eat you, if you insult them." She quoted the notes. "So, try to remember Buckbeak. Remain calm, and bow, then talk to her. Try imagining she is that snake from the zoo."
"More like the Basilisk." Harry quipped trying to joke.
"Without the killing stare. A big snake with wings and legs." She said smiling at him. "I am worried, too. I'm scared you won't make it. Just know, I am rooting for you. I believe in you. Just ask the dragon for the object."
"They're nesting mothers." Harry said worried again.
"Probably something hidden among their eggs." She said, the leaned against him. "We can worry all we want, but it won't change anything."
"Mr. Potter." McGonagall said as she walked up to them.
"It's time?" He asked looking at the professor.
McGonagall nodded sharply.
The two students gathered their things.
"Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked curious.
"As I told the headmaster at the Weighing of the Wands. I am his support." Hermione answered placing her bag on her shoulder. "It is in the rules. Since Harry is representing a fourth school and has no one else. I am his support. The headmaster is only supposed to support their champion. So the headmaster should only be with Cedric. I am the one behind Harry."
"I see," McGonagall replied smirking. "I am glad someone read the rules. They all seem to be winging it."
The three left the Great Hall and went to the Champion's Tent.
Dumbledore looked puzzled at Hermione. "I guess I shouldn't ask."
"You know the rules, headmaster." She answered smiling.
"Of course. I take it you will be observing from the stands?" Dumbledore asked looking grandfatherly.
"I'm not a judge. I would be too bias." She answered making a point to look at the other headmasters. "So, yes, once we all leave the champions, I will join our friend."
"Ronald..." Dumbledore began.
"Luna Lovegood." She said smiling. "Ronald has refused to believe us."
"My mistake, shall we begin?" Dumbledore asked smiling.
Ludo Bagman stood up. "For the First Task, I will be offering you each this bag from which you each will select a small model of the thing you are about to face. There are different – er – varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too...ah, yes... your task is to collect the Golden Egg."
Harry glanced around.
Cedric nodded once. No one else seemed to react.
The next thing heard was the sound of feet moving around overhead, and passing by the tent.
"Ladies first." Bagman said as he offered the bag to Fleur.
Fleur placed a shaky hand inside the bag and pulled out a model of a Welsh Green. Around its neck was a number two. She didn't react showing no sign of surprise.
The same was true for Krum, when he pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball, with the number three.
Cedric pulled the Swedish short-snout, with the number one.
Hermione wasn't surprised. She already knew Harry would get the Horntail.
Sure enough, Harry pulled out a model of the Hungarian Horntail, with the number four.
"Well, there you are." Bagman said smiling. "You each have pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you take on the dragon." He put the bag away. "Now we will be leaving you. Mr. Diggory, upon the whistle you will step into the enclosure."
Hermione hugged Harry and looked into his eyes.
Harry nodded. He knew she was telling him to stick to the plan. He handed her the model. "Guess it's a keepsake." He said smiling.
She couldn't help but smile back. "I'm going to find Luna. Remember you have two people routing for you."
He kissed her cheek and nodded.
Soon, the champions were the only ones left inside the tent.
A whistle sounded from somewhere, and it began.
Soon enough, all but Harry was left waiting. He heard the cries of anguish from Krum's dragon. Shaking his head, he tried to focus back on the plan. The sounds of cheering signaled the end of Krum's turn. Harry took a few deep breaths to try to calm his nerves. Hopefully, he gets a happy Horntail. Maybe, they can tell each other jokes.
The hardest part was waiting for them to change out dragons. Hearing the others, only added to his nerves. He heard a roar of anger. Oh great, they pissed her off.
Hermione was angry. Charlie Weasley just sent a stunner at the Horntail. They didn't do that to the other dragons. He looked at her and smiled before leaving the enclosure. 'He did it on purpose.' She scowled at him. She looked at Ron. He was smirking at her. 'They are trying to hurt Harry.'
The whistle blew.
Harry calmed his nerves and walked out of the tent. He looked around. There was a shimmering shield protecting the crowd. At least they were safe. A growl made him look at the Horntail. She was pissed off. Great. He took a few more steps, stopping when she bared her teeth.
He sighed. 'Here goes nothing.' He thought as he bowed deeply to her. He attempted to envision her as a snake. "Hello?" 'Yeah, show your nerves.' He looked around. "Do you understand me?"
The dragon nodded. She hunched over her eggs.
"There is an egg there. It isn't one of yours. The judges hid it among your young. All I want is the wrong egg. You can keep the others. I am not wanting your children. I know what it is like to not have a mum." He said hoping this worked.
The dragon roared, as it looked up at the judges. She looked at her nest. Sure enough, one of the eggs stood out among the others. "Come, take the wretched thing, but be warned. Do not harm my young."
He nodded and slowly walked over to the nest. "It is in the middle. I will have to use my wand. If I hurt any of your eggs, you can do with me as you like."
The dragon nodded.
He pulled his wand out and summoned the Golden Egg.
The whistle blew.
Harry turned to the dragon and bowed deeply again.
"That redhead better not try to stun me again." He heard as he slowly walked out of the enclosure.
The crowd was stunned. Only Hermione and Luna were cheering in the beginning. Soon, everyone else joined in and cheered.
When Harry left the tent, he was hit by a brown-haired missile. This brought a smile to his face. He wrapped his arms around her.
She was crying. "It worked!"
"Hermione, he needs to go to the medical tent. They need to check him over." Luna said placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "It isn't needed, but it is the rules."
Hermione refused to let him go. She wrapped an arm around his waist and accompanied him to the medical tent.
Hermione looked nervous. "Harry, Charlie Weasley case a stunner on the Horntail, before you came out. I noticed Ron looking like he knew about it."
"Hermione, all I care about is you being at my side. Ginny tried to potion me. I am done with the Weasleys. All I care about is this girl. She is smart, beautiful, and is my best friend. You might know her. Her name is Hermione Granger." He said smiling at her.
She slapped his arm playfully. "You, prat."
When they left the tent, Ron came up to them. "Harry, whoever put your name in that goblet. I- I reckon they're trying to do you in."
"Caught on have you?" Harry asked scowling at him. "I'll give you a hint. It's the same bloke almost every year. His name is Voldemort. See that's not the big problem, the big problem is your brother trying to anger my dragon."
Ron looked shocked and then scowled at Hermione.
"I know all about it. I also know about your sister putting potions in my drinks." Harry said putting his arm around Hermione's waist. "A friend helped me out. It wasn't Hermione. I began thinking. Ginny trying to keep me from realizing my feelings. Your brother angering my dragon. You telling me you like Hermione. What else Ronald? Your mummy trying to act like my mum. I had a mum, Ronald. Then I remembered First-Year. First, of September, your mum talked about muggles, asking about the platform number, like she didn't know it. It just so happened I was nearby. Makes a guy think. Makes me think, you staged it. Maybe, the headmaster wanted me to become fascinated by a magical family. Then you came to my compartment on the train. Everywhere else is full, you claimed. Yet I know Hermione was in the next compartment alone. Shows me how stupid I was. Maybe, dumbing myself down to avoid being punished made me dumb." He glared at Ron. "I have a good friend. I have a girlfriend. I don't need people trying to use me. So no Ron, I am not forgiving you. I want nothing to do with your family." He looked at Hermione. "Let's go. I know a place we can talk, and be alone. Maybe later, we can invite Luna."
"You know Loony Lovegood?" Ron asked looking at him.
"Her name is Luna, Ronald." Hermione answered scowling at Ron. "She is a friend, unlike some."
They walked towards the enclosure to get Harry's score.
Harry stood there holding Hermione. He looked up at the judges.
Madam Maxime gave him and eight. Crouch gave him a nine. Dumbledore gave him a ten. Ludo Bagman gave him a ten. Karkaroff gave him a four. Everyone looked at Karkaroff. He just shrugged.
"He gave everyone but Krum low scores." Hermione said as she hugged Harry tight with her arm. "He gave Krum a ten. Even though Krum destroyed the real eggs."
"Vy did you give him a ten?" Karkaroff asked scowling at Dumbledore.
"He had used his mind." Dumbledore answered smiling. "Talking to the dragon, instead of fighting it. It was brave and wise."
Harry smiled at Hermione. It was her idea after all.
She leaned in close. "You are ahead by one point." It was a whisper, but he heard how proud she was of him.
As they left, Krum was scowling at them.
'Maybe, he will get the message. I am Harry's girl.' She smiled at the thought. 'What did my older self see in him? Sure, he has the looks, but he is so much like Ron.' Her older self ended up with Ron. This realization made her even more grateful to be with Harry.
They headed into the castle. She let Harry guide her. A smile came to her face when she realized where they were going. They were heading to the unused classroom, or as she called it, their classroom.
When the door closed, she looked at him. "Alright, we're alone."
He smiled at her. "These days, since Halloween, have been the best of my life." He said. He hugged her. "It is all thanks to you. Even with Ginny's interference, I knew you were special to me. That potion made me fear loving you. I questioned it all the time we were together. Since Luna helped me. I have known everything I said, even with the potion, was true. I love you, Hermione Granger."
"I love you, too, Harry Potter." She said smiling. "There are a few things I think I need to say."
"That is why we are here." He said motioning to a couple of chairs. "I think we need to tell each other everything. We haven't done it."
"Well, I guess I will start." She said taking his hand in hers. "I am going to start from the beginning, well our beginning. I told you, how I was shocked and pleased to find out I was a witch? I also said I got books to learn about the magical world. Well, you were mentioned in three of them. It got me thinking. You were famous. So being muggle-born, I thought of other celebrities, actors, and the like. I pictured you as they are. I was also scared I didn't know any magic yet. That was why I memorized my books. I was scared I didn't know anything. Thinking magical kids grew up learning magic. When I boarded the train, there were people in the compartment, I chose. Trying to impress them, I told them about everything I learned. Of course, they looked at me weirdly and changed compartments. I was already in my robes when Neville came. I offered to help since he asked me so nicely. I thought I might have a friend. He didn't tell me he had already asked you and Ron. So I went to the first compartment I thought of. There I saw two boys, one had his wand out. So I got curious. He said some weird things, I never heard. I only knew First-Year spells. So, when it failed, I sort of let an old habit of mine take over. You know that part. The surprise for me is when you said you were Harry Potter. Here was this boy dressed in oversize ragged clothes, with broken glasses, saying he was Harry Potter. Remembering my promise to Neville, I left. I wanted to stay, but I was raised to keep my word." She sighed and shook her head. "I sat next to you as often as I could. I doubt you noticed. When I overheard you and Malfoy talking, and then Ron getting you into that duel. I knew I had to try to stop you. It felt strange to me. It was like back in primary. I had a girl pretend to be my friend. She had me go into the loo. There were other girls in there. They took my books and tore them to pieces. It had that feel to it. I know, now, I should have done it differently. Let you know why I tried to stop you. I was worried. You would either get into trouble, or Malfoy would hurt you. We were not friends yet. I followed you, to try to keep you from being hurt." She smiled. "Halloween. I tried to sit beside you again, but Ron and Seamus were already there. So I sat next to Ron. I was already upset because I wanted to be next to you, even back then. Then I got upset with Ron. All I was trying to do was help him."
"I know." Harry said squeezing her hand.
"It all came to me. When he called me a nightmare and said I had no friends. It hit me hard. Just because we sat together, we weren't friends. It was like my Primary School all over again. When I was in the toilet, I heard the door lock. I was curious. Who would lock the girl's toilet? I opened the stall, and there was a huge troll. I screamed. Afterward, I realized my mistake. Screaming near a troll, not the best idea I had. Then something happened. The boy I met on the train. The one I kept trying to sit next to. He did probably the dumbest thing. He jumped on the troll. Well, he tried to get its attention before he did, but still. That was when I knew why I tried to sit next to him. Why I tried to become his friend. Why I risked getting expelled to make sure he was safe. That moment showed me, I loved Harry Potter." She leaned back. "I lied for you, not Ron, not the famous Boy-Who-Lived. I did it for Harry, the boy I loved. In the potions room, going after the stone, I wanted to kiss you. After I hugged you, I was going to kiss you. I knew you were right. I had to go because the potion was timed. It took me so long. I was remembering you. Between that, and my wanting to kiss you. I came by the hospital wing every day. Ron only came to take your candy. So that was only our First-Year." She leaned forward again.
"How about we take this by the year?" He asked smiling. "I'll tell you about my First-Year. Then we will move to Second-Year."
She nodded. "We can do that."
"Well, getting my letter wasn't easy. The Dursleys decided to try to run from them. I didn't get to see one until Hagrid came. He took me to Diagon Alley. Looking back, I should have followed your example. I was in awe, not knowing anything, either. People staring at me, shaking my hand. It overwhelmed me. Here I was an unwanted kid, being treated like the Queen, herself. It didn't last. I was sent back to Privet Drive. The only thing I had, to remind me it wasn't a dream, was my school things. I read the books, not memorizing them, but read them. I looked forward to the First of September. It wasn't until I got to the station, I realized. Hagrid forgot to tell me how to get to the platform. You might have already been on board. Well, like I told Ron earlier. A well-staged performance, to an eleven-year-old boy, by the Weasleys, got me to the train. The twins helped me onto the train. Another great act, and off they went telling Molly, I was Harry Potter. You heard Ron's excuse to get into my compartment. 'Everywhere else is full' I can't believe I bought that line. The best part, of the whole ride, not seconds after Neville asked about Trevor, a cute girl opens the door and asks us again." He said smiling at her, as she blushed. "Ron said rather rudely, now that I remember it, we hadn't seen it. I told Neville he would turn up. After Neville left Ron said he would lose a toad if he had one. Why am I now seeing just how mean Ron has always been? Anyway, back to the cute girl, she scared me, saying she had memorized her books."
"Sorry." She whispered smiling shyly.
"I understand. The short time you were there was my favorite part of the ride. When we entered the Great Hall to be sorted. I mainly remember you talking about the ceiling. I remember before, in the Entrance Hall, you listing off spells you knew. It had me worried." He held up his hand to stop her from saying anything. "I know. After being sorted, I found myself sitting near the girl. I was too caught up in the moment, to understand why. Classes started, Potions was the worst, sorry about pointing out you knew the answers. I was upset I couldn't remember anything I read. Then came the night with Malfoy. When he asked me, I was going to say I didn't know what a wizard's duel was. You were right, Ron did get me into it. Of course, I felt trapped. There was no way, I was not going to show up. Everything you said, I knew they were true. Yet, I let Ron, well we did find Fluffy." He smiled. "Halloween, I was worried about you, even before the troll. I overheard you were in the girl's toilet. I wanted to find you. Then professor Quirrell came in and did an act. I was scared. You didn't know. I convinced Ron to come with me. The troll was in the hallway. It went into a room, we shut the door and locked it. I believe you were safe. It wasn't until you screamed, I realized the room was the toilets. So I turned around and ran back. Unlocked the door, entered, seen you scared, tried to distract the troll so you could escape. When I realized you were too scared to move, I acted. After everything was settled, I was just glad you were safe. Looking back, it was then I realized how I felt. I didn't know at the time. The reason I insisted you go, in the potion room, was I wanted to know you were safe. I wanted to know nothing would happen to you. You hugged me. I was embarrassed, not because I was never hugged before. I was embarrassed, because a cute girl, I liked, hugged me."
She placed her hand upon his cheek and smiled. "I wish we were more open about our feelings back then."
"I really should thank, Neville." He said. "We never would have gotten close without him."
"I would like to think we would have, but your right. I think we need to try to be more than passing friends with him." She said and then sighed. "Don't ask how, but I found out he is your godbrother. His mum is your godmother."
His eyes lit up. "I really should treat him better, than I have."
"We both should, not just because of him being your godbrother. I think he would do better, with you around him." She said smiling again. "So we are on Second-Year."
He chuckled. "We needed to do this."
"I agree." She said kissing his cheek.