Dudley was still in a state of shock when Bagman held the bag towards him. He reached inside and pulled out a model of a blueish-grey dragon with the number 1 tied around its neck. Last, it was Neville's turn, he looked pale and worried as he reached in for his own, pulling out a model of a particularly vicious looking dragon with number 4 tied around its neck.
"Right, well, remember, your task is to collect the golden egg. I'm commentating, so I will head out now. Mr. Dursley, you are up first, emerge from the tent when you hear a whistle," Bagman said.
"Did you know it was dragons?" Dudley whispered to Neville.
"Hermione figured out it would be some sort of dangerous creature," Neville said. "But we didn't know which."
"Lockhart thought it was a Sphinx," Dudley said in disgust.
Neville let out a small snort of laughter. "Good luck," he said as Dudley turned to wait by the entrance.
"Thanks, you too," Dudley replied.
At that moment, the flap of the tent bust open and Lockhart rushed in. His beret was askew and he looked ashen-faced. "Dudley! Goodness! I've just heard terrible news! The first task is …"
"Dragons, I know," Dudley said angrily. "All that time we spent practicing for Sphinxes and it was dragons!"
Krum and Delacour were looking his way but Dudley didn't care.
"I know—I know. My contact, well, he was adamant …" Lockhart whispered.
"Now what am I meant to do? I don't have a clue how to fight a dragon," Dudley said.
"Obliviate," Lockhart said firmly.
"On a dragon?" Dudley demanded.
"You can manage it. Obliviate, Dudley. Obliviate. Well, I must be off—back to my seat. Remember—obliviate!" Lockhart grinned uncertainly and departed.
"Bloody obliviate," Dudley snarled. It was almost as if it was the only thing Lockhart was good at. Surely there would be a better option than obliviate. Still, it had worked on the basilisk. Perhaps it would work here.
At that moment, Dudley heard the toot of Bagman tooting a whistle.
He swore. There was no more time. He took a deep breath, walked out of the tent and into the arena.
There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at him from stands. And there was the Swedish Short-Snout, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a handsome, scaly, blue lizard. Upon seeing him, it roared suddenly. The crowd was making a great deal of noise and over the din, he could hear the roar of a lion which could only be the hat that Luna had told him about.
"This best work," he muttered and pulling out his wand, he sprinted forward.
"Very daring! A full-frontal attack by Dursley! What does he have in mind!" he heard Lockhart say.
The dragon crouched down, its head lowered, its mouth agape. Inside, he could see flames swirling. Just beneath its legs was its nest and in the pile, there was the golden egg gleaming
"Obliviate!" Dudley shouted, firing the memory charm at the dragon. He thought hard, focusing on removing the memory of the nest from the dragon, the way Lockhart had taught him.—picture the nest, remove the memory, make it forget, obliviate the dragon, get it to move from its nest and then run for the egg.
For a few seconds, the dragon's eyes grew vacant as the memory charm hit it.
"Unexpected! A memory charm! Let's see what Dursley has in mind here!" Bagman shouted.
Dudley bent his legs slightly, ready to run for it.
The dragon roared and charged forward, its massive feet pounding in the ground. The charm ahd worked. It had forgotten all about its nest. On the downside, it was now fixated on one thing—eating Dudley.
Dudley ran for it, darting towards a cluster of boulders. He could feel heat from the dragon's fire lapping at his legs as he ran and he hurled himself behind a rock for safety.
What now?
He took a quick glance up. The dragon was looking for him. The nest was abandoned. But, to get there, he had to get past the dragon.
He decided on stealth. Staying on his hands and knees, Dudley crept forward slowly, trying to keep his bulky body hidden by rocks and boulders.
"Very cautious, now—it seems Dursley is trying to sneak past the dragon," Bagman announced. "But risky! Dragons have excellent senses."
Suddenly, Dudley had an idea. He lifted his wand. "Wingardium leviosa!"
He levitated a small rock and hurled as hard as it could in the opposite direction. It hit the ground with a thud. The dragon's head whipped around and immediately the crocodile-like jaws opened and it fired a blast of flame at the spot where the rock landed.
"Bloody Norah!" he whispered. That thing would roast him alive.
"And a nice levitation charm there to keep the beast distracted," Bagman called.
Dudley crept forward again, eyes on the egg. It was getting closer. 50 yards. 30 yards … there was no more cover. He would have to run. The dragon was facing the opposite direction, its long blue tail swishing to and fro no more than 10 yards away.
He took a deep breath and ran.
"And there goes Dursley! Towards the egg, let's hope …"
Bagman's last words turned into a groan that Dudley barely heard. The dragon must have heard it. It had swung its mighty tail—as thick as a tree trunk. Dudley cried out as the thick, muscular appendage slammed into his back with enough force to lift him off the floor. He hit the ground hard, bounced, rolled and came to a halt, lying on his back.
Dudley had never been hit by a truck, but this must be what it felt like. He couldn't move. Every breath shook his body and he ached all over. He tried to raise his wand as the dragon looked over him.
Then—there was somebody else there. Charlie Weasley had sprinted from the sidelines. His wand was aloft and there was a strange blue glow around him.
The dragon shot a jet of fire at them both, but Charlie and his fire-repelling shield prevented the flames from touching them. Dudley could still feel the heat of it though.
"Charlie …" Dudley gasped, trying to sit up.
"Come on, stunners, on my signal!" Charlie ordered.
Dudley was now kneeling on the ground. A number of Ministry wizards had surrounded the Swedish Short-Snout.
The dragon's head was whipping around, unsure of who to go for.
"Now!" Charlie ordered.
"Stupefy!" cried eight voices.
The dragon, which was rearing up onto its hind legs roared as the spells hit it. It wobbled and started to fall.
Dudley stared at it as he felt Charlie grab him under his arms and haul him backwards, just as the dragon fell unconscious with a thud, right where Dudley had been not a few seconds before.
"We'll get you patched up, don't worry," Charlie said, giving him a grin.
Dudley nodded. Even that small movement hurt. As a healer rushed into the arena to tend to him, Dudley suddenly realized that he had failed the first task.