Author's Notes:
I've realized that JK Rowling's pattern of capitalization is just ridiculous, so I'm following my own rules now. I mean, why are some magical creatures capitalized, and others aren't? Why is Muggle capitalized when veela, wizard, witch aren't? Why is it so inconsistent at times? Sometimes a word is capitalized, other times it's not. It's rather annoying figuring it all out, so I'm just following my own rules from now on.
Chapter 8
The Longest Hours
1994, November 24, Girls' Dormitory Bathroom.
Soft hands held her hair back as she bent over the porcelain and emptied her stomach. She clutched the sides of the lid with her hands, her knuckles white, and her knees already beginning to hurt. This was her second trip to the bathroom. The first had been not too long after breakfast. This was shortly after the beginning of lunch.
All classes were cancelled. Today was the big day. They didn't want any classes interfering with the first task, not that any of it mattered to Iris. She wouldn't have gone either way. There wouldn't have been a point. She wouldn't have been able to focus. She would have been as she was now.
A wreck.
A part of her wished for it to happen now, for the first task to already be starting. The anticipation was bringing her anxiety levels to such a point that she couldn't hold in her breakfast or lunch. She'd likely start the first task on an empty stomach.
She wasn't worried about Fluffy. He'd be easy. She was only a bit worried about what else could be in the task.
It was the dragons that were really terrifying her. They were by far the largest creatures she had ever seen, and she was at a distance when she saw them. What would they look like right in front of her? This wasn't even as bad as the first time she had walked into the Chamber of Secrets. She didn't know the size of a basilisk then and so the wait hadn't been as bad. The wait for the dragons made her want to drink the firewhisky Aberforth had given her right now.
"Are you ready to get up?" Hermione asked softly as she tucked hairs behind Iris's ears.
Iris nodded. She slowly got up with the help of Hermione, though she did not need it. She was feeling better now that she had nothing more to throw up. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
"What time is it?" she asked Hermione.
"You don't want to know."
"Hermione," Iris moaned and she slammed her head against a mirror.
"Sure, give yourself a concussion before you —"
"Hermione, not now," Iris said through gritted teeth. She flicked her wand out and checked the time. The task started at two, but she needed to head there an hour before. It was eleven now. She had two hours until someone came to get her. They had said it would likely last until six or so. They predicted each champion to take up to an hour, give or take ten to thirty minutes, depending on how skilled they were.
The 'interview' Skeeter had printed out had actually done some damage; Iris now had all the Slytherins and half of both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff against her. Their taunts had made it clear what they thought of her during breakfast, when Dumbledore had announced how long it may take each champion. Half of the school thought she would take a full two hours, and that was if she didn't die in the first five minutes.
It didn't help that Krum, the famous seeker that he was, didn't forgive her when she had apologized this morning. He had claimed she was only doing it now so her humiliation in the first task wouldn't be as bad, and that if she meant it, she would have apologized earlier. She really had no one but herself to blame for that one; she had completely forgotten to apologize to him when Hermione had pointed out he wasn't really leering at her all those days ago.
The only comfort she had gotten that morning was seeing Fleur scowl at Krum's back. Before she could talk to her though, Madame Maxime had come and whisked Fleur away, much to the disappointment and irritation of both. She hadn't talked to Fleur since the night they had seen the dragons, but Iris was hoping to actually get to know her, seeing as she had unwittingly told Fleur quite a bit more than she ever wanted to tell anyone and Fleur had reacted pleasantly.
Twelve o'clock.
An hour flew by and Iris considered just hopping on her broom and flying off to find Sirius. They could spend the rest of their lives on some tropical beach, drinking things she shouldn't be drinking, enjoying the local women, maybe even smoking cigars.
One o'clock.
It was time. She and Hermione had spent the last two hours getting some last minute practice in. Iris had insisted on practicing all the healing spells they had learned. She had also paid Bagman to go out and buy her a vial of Essence of Dittany. Bagman had asked for thirty galleons, and had even said it would only buy her a small vial, not even the size of her thumb.
Unfortunately, Bagman was not trying to cheat her out of money; so it was that Iris gave Bagman thirty galleons; she only had ten galleons left, and those were going to Aberforth. After that, she'd need to visit Gringotts again if she wanted to use any more money while at school. Was it a bit irresponsible of her to spend so much money in such a short time? Perhaps, but she still had heaps of gold in her vault, didn't she? She surely wouldn't lose it all so soon.
Hermione also had her practice dodging by banishing pillows at her. Iris had already been skilled at this. A decade of being forced to dodge Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley's attempts at hitting her had helped, along with the fact that every week at her muggle school, Dudley and his friends would all play a game of dodgeball with her. Of course, it was simply her against five people, and being hit didn't mean she was out. Oh no, she'd be hit a few dozen times before they decided they had won.
She was thankful for it. Her reflexes were quick now. She could dive, somersault, and be on her feet fairly quickly, but she really preferred not to; it was inconvenient, slower than one or two quick steps to the side, and was often painful. If she really had to dive out of the way, it was best to simply throw herself to the side, making herself parallel to the ground in the air, roll sideways, and get to her feet that way instead. That hurt too, but not as often as the other option. Of course, she preferred to simply sidestep. Not as dramatic, but much more practical.
She was able to dodge most of Hermione's pillows. She sometimes only needed to lean her body to the side; or simply duck; sometimes she'd need to quickly throw her entire body to the floor, but she was quick enough; on the rare occasion, she'd have to throw her entire self to the side — this part was often painful, but it worked. It was likely something she'd have to do to dodge a tail swipe from a dragon.
"I'm honestly surprised at how quick your leaps are, Iris. It's almost unnatural," Hermione said, looking down at Iris's legs.
"I play Quidditch," Iris said.
"How does Quidditch tone your legs? Or anything for that matter?" Hermione asked skeptically.
"Hermione, it's not just sitting on a broom. You don't think turning your broom at sixty plus is difficult? Motorcycle racers need to be fit, don't they? I'm pretty sure racecar drivers and jet pilots get in shape the same way too. Taking those turns at high speed puts a lot of stress on their body, right?"
"Right," Hermione said, nodding along.
"It's like that, but instead of only going left and right, I'm also going up and down. If I'm diving straight for the ground and I need to pull up quickly, it puts a lot of stress on my body. Remember how long our practices were last year? Sometimes Wood would make me constantly take sharp turns to build up endurance. He once had me spend three hours diving and pulling myself up without my hands. I'd have to use my legs to steer. He said it was in case I needed to use both hands to catch the Snitch. It was bloody exhausting."
"That was when your legs were really sore, wasn't it?" Hermione said.
"Yes. My legs were tired after the first twenty minutes. I could hardly walk that morning after, remember? Wood was the real madman of last year, not Sirius. Handling a broom at low speeds is easy, sure, but if you're constantly taking turns at high speed, you've got to be fit. Otherwise, you're not going to be able to hold onto the broom and you're going to toss yourself off. Personal experience, that. Quidditch won't make anyone look like a bodybuilder, but it tones some parts of the body and especially builds endurance."
Hermione's face was pensive.
Iris's lips twitched. "Guess Quidditch isn't so silly anymore, is it?"
Before Hermione could retort, there was a knock on the door.
Professor McGonagall opened the door. "Potter," she said. "It's time. We need to get you to the tent, where you'll wait until your turn."
Iris nodded. She threw her charmed sweatshirt on, threw her arms through the charmed leather jacket Hermione was holding up, and turned to Hermione, who immediately threw herself at her before she could do anything else, and hugged her tightly.
"You'll do okay, Iris. Hopefully these clothes will do a little something to help protect you from attacks. I believe in you. Good luck," she said, and she pulled away. Iris noticed her eyes were watery. Iris nodded to her too.
"Come, Potter," McGonagall said in a softer voice than she usually had, and she placed her hand on her shoulder to guide her out of the room. Ron gave her a quick hug on her way out of the common room, wishing her good luck.
As the two made their way out of the castle, she received two types of comments. Some people would offer her encouragement, tell her she'd do great, even that they were betting on her. The twins even went so far as to try and make a bet with McGonagall.
"Why would I bet against Miss Potter, Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall said. Iris felt her spirits raise at those words and she smiled fully for the first time that day.
And some people decided to tell her how likely it was that she was going to die. She was used to it however; not exactly people telling her they were going to use her as fertilizer in Herbology after the dragon ate her, but the normal insults.
A Slytherin had tossed today's edition of the Daily Prophet at her, and laughed as the paper smacked Iris in the face.
"Rowland!" McGonagall said angrily. "Fifteen points from Slytherin!"
Iris looked up at Rowland, and noticed Millicent Bulstrode behind her, staring at her with an unreadable expression. Iris mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her and Millicent looked dumbfounded for a second before she turned on her heel and walked away. She wasn't really sure why she felt a little guilty. Millicent had said awful things to her too. Perhaps because she too had once been reduced to tears from bullying.
Iris looked down at the Daily Prophet.
The First Task Today
By Rita Skeeter
The very first task of the Triwizard Tournament is today, the 24th of November, and it is being held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Nobody knows yet what dangers the first task will hold for the champions or where the stands will even be, but Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, says, "All will be revealed in due time. We did not wish to give our champions any hints as to what they must face in the first task, so we have hidden the arena and stadium from view until the time comes." Two o'clock, November 24th! If you are not a student or staff member of one of the three schools, you must have an attendance pass to attend.
Unfortunately, as we don't know what the task will be, there's not much to talk about in regards to what the champions will have to face — and speaking of the champions: Iris Potter has been spotted out on Hogwarts grounds with best friend, muggleborn Hermione Granger, practicing (and failing) all sorts of advanced magic.
"I saw her attempting some kind of shield with Granger throwing some fire spell at her. After one single hit, Potter couldn't hold it any longer and was sent flying back. It was hilarious," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts.
Given the statement from Iris Potter herself about how she was going to win, it's quite worrisome that she's unable to stop simple fire spells. If she's incapable of producing a Shield Charm (Protego), what kind of performance should we expect from her today? Perhaps Potter is purposely hiding her true skill to throw off the rest of the champions? A very Slytherin thing to do, but this reporter has an anonymous source that says it would be no surprise:
"I overheard Potter and Granger talking in the library once. Potter said the sorting hat was begging her to let it put her into Slytherin, but she wanted Gryffindor instead," says someone who wishes to remain anonymous.
But enough about that, the other champions have also been quite busy! Viktor Krum has...
Iris tossed the paper on a nearby bench and scoffed. "She's not even trying to be subtle. And speaking of the champions, let's talk about how Iris sucks," Iris said in a high-pitched mocking kind of voice.
"And this, Potter, is why I ask you to keep your mouth shut. In the wizarding world, having a big mouth can get you into trouble."
"I'm starting to realize…"
"Was it true?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Was what true?" Iris asked back, confused.
"Did you ask the sorting hat to put you into Gryffindor?"
"Oh," Iris said, still puzzled as to how anybody had overheard that conversation between her and Hermione. "Yeah, but that person made it seem like the hat was desperately trying to put me into Slytherin. All it said was that Slytherin would help me on my way to greatness."
McGonagall looked down at Iris and smiled. "Well, I'm very glad you picked Gryffindor, Potter."
They were walking towards wherever it was that she was supposed to be, and Iris did a check of what she had with her. She had her wand and wand holster, and she felt the small vial of firewhisky in a pouch. That was all she was allowed to bring, her wand, her holster, and anything that could fit inside it too, barring some exceptions. Her holster had small Undetectable Extension Charms on its two pouches, though Iris had never thought to use them until now. The pouches would remain flat on the outside, but had just enough room on the inside to hold a small vial.
The hole her wand went into was the exact same way. If it didn't have the charm on it, she wasn't sure if her wand could fit on her forearm. Hermione had explained that anything with an Undetectable Extension Charm was expensive, and that was the reason a single holster with only two pouches was fifteen galleons. The ones with six pouches were sixty galleons.
She was fairly certain the only time she had spent that much or more was with the fixing of her eyesight and when she had 'accidentally' dropped a couple dozen galleons around the Burrow over the summer (she still felt bad that Mr. Weasley had gotten a fifty galleon fine for the flying car).
She had no idea where they were going now. They were walking down the hill from Hogwarts and to the edge of a large cliff. It was a bit like a plateau once one got down the large hill, the hill of which was often used by Hogwarts students to lie down upon and relax, or perhaps do homework. The entire thing was a bit too far from Hogwarts, however, at least compared to the many other spots one could lay down in, so Iris and many others had never bothered to come here often, if at all.
It was odd though. She could see the entire plateau from her spot on the slope, and she couldn't see anything else at all. Though it was incredibly large, she was still able to see it all, and there was definitely no stadium. Was it all underground? Inside the cliff, perhaps? But she did not see any door that would lead to an underground area.
"Professor?" Iris said, grabbing the attention of McGonagall, who was looking at something in the distance closely, but Iris only saw the empty sky. "Where exactly is this?"
"The area for the first task is located on the plateau near the Hogwarts castle," McGonagall said, and Iris opened her mouth to tell her that it obviously wasn't, that McGonagall had gone just as barmy as Dumbledore, when suddenly, out of thin air, an absolutely enormous structure appeared in front of her.
Iris stopped and stared, eyes wide.
"The Fidelius Charm, Miss Potter," McGonagall said in amusement, clearly enjoying Iris's astonishment. Iris had heard of the Fidelius, of course. Having a bed next to Hermione for over three years, and now with the privacy charm covering only their two beds, she was treated to Hermione's rambling about all sorts of subjects nearly nightly — not that Iris minded much.
Nevertheless, it was still quite astounding, and a bit startling too, seeing such a large stadium appear from nowhere — and it didn't even appear to be just a stadium. The stadium, where the stands were, was on the far end of the structure, near the edge of the cliff. Before that, however, there was something else, but Iris couldn't see what as large walls had been erected to block out the view. She did see a certain area behind the walls that had trees large enough to stand taller than the walls.
"The stands are on the far end," McGonagall said, and there might have been a bit of unease in her voice. "Inside those walls might be the areas you'll be going through. They didn't tell me much. Come."
They were coming upon a large tent now, the clear entrance to the arena. Iris saw that it was connected to the long walls that extended from both sides of the tent. Now that she was closer, she saw that the stands where everybody would be sitting were much further down, and she wondered just how many magical creatures she would have to face. She doubted that the people in the stands would be able to see the first few she'd have to get through, especially if those trees were any indication. Whatever was there wouldn't be able to be seen by any of the audience.
That thought made her feel a bit better.
"Professor, will the audience be able to see the beginning? The stands are far away," Iris said hopefully.
"They will. They've enchanted Snitches to fly near you and record you, like a live muggle video recorder. Instead of the golden, all-metal ball, it'll be an eye. Everything it records will be shown on a magical screen at the stands, a bit like a muggle cinema," McGonagall said, and Iris had to suppress a groan. A Snitch would be recording everything? She didn't know such things existed, and while it was a creative solution, the idea of people getting to watch her up close like that made her feel ill.
"Oh. Fantastic."
McGonagall sighed. "I'm sorry you have to go through this. Do you have a plan?"
"I thought we weren't supposed to know anything, so how could I prepare?"
"Don't insult my intelligence, Potter. I'm positive you know something," McGonagall said briskly.
Iris smiled. "I might use the Summoning Charm a bit. Once to Summon a flute to put Mr. Cerberus to sleep. I might use my Firebolt to outfly you later on."
"Me?" McGonagall asked warily.
"Yeah, when you're angry, you look like you're ready to breathe fire —"
"So you know. Anything else?" McGonagall said stiffly.
"I've already had one adult tell me my plan wouldn't work, Professor. I'd rather not have my spirits crushed again. You'll just have to see. I've got a shield ready though, just in case."
McGonagall stopped. "What shield, Potter? Protego? I hope not, Protego will —"
"The Dragonfire Shield Charm, Professor," Iris interrupted.
"Nonsense, that's an extremely advanced shield," McGonagall said and continued walking.
"And what's a Patronus? A gardening spell?"
"Potter," McGonagall warned, and she motioned for Iris to enter into the tent.
"Hey, before we go in, could you Transfigure that rock into a cow?" Iris asked, pointing at a large rock.
"Why?"
"I didn't pay attention in your last class —"
"We didn't do inanimate to animate Transfiguration last class," McGonagall said.
"Fine. It's like you want me to die."
"Don't joke about manners such as that. There," she said, and she waved her wand at another rock. It changed into a cow a second later. Iris quickly stunned it.
"Potter, you can't Summon live beings…" McGonagall said.
Iris frowned. "Can you kill it for me?"
"No," McGonagall said shortly. "Come, you're making us late with this rubbish."
"Fine," Iris said, and she pointed her wand at the unconscious cow. She closed her eyes and muttered, "Confingo."
The cow exploded in flames.
"Potter, it's a Transfigured cow!" McGonagall said, exasperated. "It's not a real cow. A dragon wouldn't fall for it. Transfigured animals are nothing more than animated puppets, fueled by magic. Haven't you ever paid attention in class? If it was that easy, food could be made from rock, from nothing — and that's impossible. Now get inside."
Iris obeyed and walked into the tent. It was as large as a classroom, and it looked as luxurious as Mr. Weasley's tent during the Quidditch World Cup. Comfortable looking couches and chairs lied throughout the tent, each accompanied by a table. It looked quite cozy.
Iris saw the other three champions already there. Krum scowled at her, no doubt still upset at the fact she laughed at his pain the night of the drawing. Iris didn't really blame him. She had been horrible that night; to everyone really. Cassius only gave her a moment's glance before nodding and turning the other way. He looked paler than normal, and Iris hoped he had believed her warning about the dragons.
Fleur gave her a weak smile, and she too was pale. She was sitting down on one of the couches inside the tent, trying to calm her slightly trembling hands. Iris gave her a bright smile, and though it wasn't a completely true smile, Fleur's eyes lost some of the worry. Iris walked over to Fleur and flopped down on the couch next to her.
"Sit tight, Potter," said McGonagall, and before leaving the tent, she added, "and good luck."
"Did you get your cloak back?" whispered Fleur, leaning over to Iris.
Iris nodded. "Yeah, Hermione gave it to me. Thanks for returning it, and sorry I didn't come and get it myself."
"Non, you let me borrow it, do not worry about it. Miss Granger seemed upset that you were not in the Great 'All that morning. Did you truly go to this… Aberforth?"
Iris smiled sheepishly.
"Tsk tsk," Fleur said playfully, and she visibly relaxed. "'Ow was the morning after?"
"I woke up in a haystack with a goat licking my face," Iris said. Fleur laughed, and the other two champions looked their way, surprised. "I honestly felt like I was dying for that entire day."
"Too young to drink, did I not say it?" Fleur said, still laughing softly. Iris felt an odd sense of satisfaction at being able to calm Fleur's nerves.
"You did," Iris admitted, "and I regret it. I missed my first two classes and was late for the third, Potions."
"That is is the angry Professor's class, Snape?" Fleur asked. Iris nodded. "I 'ave 'eard of students talking of 'is 'atred for you, and I've 'eard the man 'imself yell your name in the 'alls."
Iris snickered. "He's a git. I try to annoy him whenever I can. If I see him in the halls, I'll change his robes pink or something. I can't really do anything impressive while simply passing by him in the halls, but it's fun seeing him get angry. This whole 'no detentions' thing is great, really great."
"Taking advantage of it?"
Iris nodded happily, unabashed. "You kidding? If they aren't competent enough to stop an underage student's name from going into the Goblet, they deserve to suffer through my immaturity."
Fleur smiled. "I can't decide if you're arrogant or a kind soul, Iris."
Iris shrugged. "Neither."
"Ah, but you gave me your cloak, non? A priceless family 'eirloom as your friend pointed out."
"Wanted you to get to your bed safely," Iris muttered.
"And what of your own safety?"
"What did it matter? There's a decent chance I'll be dead within two hours," Iris said flatly. Fleur's face fell.
They had come full circle.
"Don't," Fleur said. "You are the only person in this place that I 'aven't regretted talking to. I'd be quite put out with you if you died. Cepedant, you are clearly not arrogant. You would not assume you'd die if you were." She grabbed some water from the table in front of the two.
Iris looked only surprised. She had heard the rest of Fleur's comment, but didn't want to respond. She really had to curb her urge to joke about her own demise. It might have made her feel better, adding humor to a serious situation that only affected her — well, no, it clearly would affect others if she died.
"The only? Surely not."
"This place is the same as Beauxbatons." Fleur scoffed. "Lecherous stares from boys, envious glares from the girls."
Iris looked over Fleur's face for a moment, puzzling Fleur. "Well, I don't know what they're envious of," Iris said, a slight tug on one side of her lips, the side Fleur could see. Fleur choked on her water, and before she could make a witty retort, Bagman burst through the tent flap. Madame Maxime, Karkaroff, Moody, Dumbledore, Snape, and Crouch followed.
"Good heavens, why is there a flaming cow outside?"
Iris felt Fleur's amused eyes on her. "Must have been one of the dragons."
Everybody's heads swiveled to Iris, except Fleur, who simply snorted.
"You know?" cried Bagman.
"Potter!" snarled Snape.
"Dragons?" exclaimed Krum. He had evidently not known about them.
"Dragons? But the girl is joking, of course!" Madame Maxime said. Iris smiled at her and brushed her chin with a finger mockingly, staring pointedly at the chin of Madame Maxime, who scowled at her.
"Non, Iris is not joking. She and I saw the dragons a few days ago in the Forbidden Forest," said Fleur, shrugging indifferently. Madame Maxime stared at Fleur in shock, appalled that Fleur hadn't told her. Iris was a bit surprised herself.
"You cheated!" Krum blurted out.
"Absurd," Iris said in the most insincere voice she could manage. "We just happened to see them. I told Warrington here about them —" and Cassius Warrington nodded in confirmation, while Snape frowned "— and I was ready to tell you too, Krum, but you told me — hmm — 'Run along and play with your dolls, child,' was it?"
"Let us move on, shall we?" Dumbledore said, giving Iris a warning look, and his calm voice carried throughout the tent, stopping all conversation. Krum scowled at her. He motioned Bagman to speak.
"Well, welcome, welcome! I see some of you have made yourselves at home, just as you should," Bagman said happily, looking at Iris. "Let's begin. As you remember, this task will test your daring and courage! The first task will be an obstacle course, of sorts, with magical creatures as the main obstacles. There'll be six total stages of the task, six total obstacles, or sectors. The flower field and caves being the first, followed by the forest, the bridge, the lake, the abandoned building, and the stadium. Some of these locations might offer more than a single magical creature, and some might only offer one type. Following so far?"
Iris nodded along with the rest of the champions. Her mind was whirling with information already. She was facing at least six magical creatures. It was likely to be a dozen or more.
"Now, when you exit the tent, you will simply follow the only path you can, and eventually, once you reach the lake, there will be a Portkey in the center. Reach it and it will take you to the fifth sector. Another Portkey will be there to take you to the stadium. We — er — weren't allowed to bring what was in fifth sector near the students," Bagman said, looking nervously at Dumbledore.
What in the world could that be? The dragon? If the dragon was the fifth sector, what could be the sixth?
"Those will be the only two Portkeys you must take to get to the end. However, we will be giving you Portkeys right now, and they should be used if you feel you do not wish to continue through the sector. These Portkeys are designed to change locations as you make your way through the sectors. Using a Portkey to skip a sector will have its penalties, however, and those penalties will be the points. A bit complicated, I know, but we wouldn't want you to get cornered by a rampaging creature and not have a way to survive it, would we?"
Bagman took out the Portkeys, which were small rectangular strips of leather, and Iris moved back to sit in a chair. Fleur gave her an odd look, but Iris ignored her. This was the chance for Bagman to give her the Essence of Dittany. With her far enough from the crowd, Bagman could easily slip it into her hands along with the Portkey.
Bagman seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for he slipped the piece of leather into her hand, the Essence of Dittany bottle right under it. He winked at her with a beaming smile and turned to stand back in his spot. Iris looked down at her leather and saw that it had 'The Second Sector' engraved into it.
"Simply say what's said on the Portkey, and you will be taken to the location," Bagman continued happily. "Careful to not say it by accident. We wouldn't want you to lose points by mistake, would we? Now, the points. Pay attention, for this may also get a bit confusing. The first two sectors will start you off with ten points each. Use the Portkey and you will lose these ten points. Complete the sector without the Portkey, and these ten points will be added to your score. The next two, the third and fourth sector, will have fifteen points to them. They will naturally be tougher."
Great.
"The fifth sector will start you off with no points at all, for nothing positive can be gained here," Bagman said, attempting to sound mysterious. Iris had a good idea of what the fifth task held now, especially since Dumbledore looked a bit unhappy. "However, this will be a timed sector. For every minute that you spend in this sector, five points will be taken from your final score! Get past it in under a minute and no points will be lost. There will be no points to start off with in the sixth obstacle as well. Instead, there will be five judges that will judge your performance. It will be marks out of ten for each judge, leaving a total of fifty points available. The top score you can get from the whole task is one hundred points."
Bagman looked from face to face for every champion, smiling widely, but his smile faltered slightly when none of the other three champions smiled. He looked over to Iris, and she gave him a bright smile which brightened him up as well. On the inside, Iris was thinking on how this task was a bit more complicated than she had hoped.
"You're likely wondering just what the points do. Well, you should! The amount of points you gain will go towards the fifth and last task, but we won't be telling you the details now. The last thing, before we start, is the sixth and final sector. We will be telling you what you will be facing."
"Dragons?" Iris said.
"Dragons!" Bagman said brightly. "The sixth sector will be a dragon in the stadium. Of course, everybody will see everything in the task via an enchanted Snitch…"
Bagman went on to explain how the Snitch worked, how they'll need to get a golden egg from the dragon, and that they'd each get a unique one. Bagman held out a bag, from which they each drew a miniature dragon. Unsurprisingly, Iris picked the worse one — the Hungarian Horntail. She didn't even blink. It was a little adorable, the miniature dragon. When they asked for the dragons back, Iris got rather defensive.
"I'm keeping her," Iris said.
"But — er — they're not exactly toys," Bagman said nervously. "They were special bred just for this —"
"You bred tiny dragons just for this ten second long moment?"
"Well, they were to be sold later —"
"I'll buy him," Iris said.
Bagman's eyes widened. "They're quite expensive," he said, chuckling uncertainly.
"Take it out of my Triwizard winnings." She waved Bagman off and returned to her seat. To her surprise, she saw Bagman grinning from ear to ear at her.
"Potter, give it back," sneered Snape.
"No."
"Potter," Snape said, nearly growling.
"Let it be, Snape," Crouch said, and Iris was sure everybody could hear the loathing he held for Snape as he spoke.
"Bagman, sir, may we continue? We'll talk about the price after the first task," Iris said. She hoped everybody would forget by then.
Bagman smiled at her and went to explain everything once more. He made sure they all understood, and said they'd go in the order in which they were selected from the Goblet of Fire. Krum, Fleur, Cassius, and then her, Iris. He explained the Snitch again, how Bagman would be commenting but those in the tent would only be able to hear the crowd, and not him, how there were certain potions they weren't allowed to take with them, such as Felix Felicis. It was first meant to be just their wands, but they realized the task would be harder than they first thought. He also spoke of how the only creatures we were allowed to kill would be before the end of the first sector.
"You are only allowed to kill any creatures before you come across Fluffy! Don't worry, you'll know who Fluffy is when you come across him," Bagman said, and Iris snorted quietly. "Should you kill any magical creatures that didn't come before Fluffy, you will not only lose all the points you could have gained, but the number of points for that sector will also be subtracted from your final score."
They weren't going to allow them to kill their magical creatures. The creatures themselves could kill them just fine though. Bagman also said that they would be allowed to bring in only their wand, their wand holster, and whatever can fit inside said holster. He gave Iris a wink as he said this. At least she wouldn't have to worry about that — though, she still wondered how they would react if she downed a shot of firewhisky. She turned back to her dragon.
"I'm naming you Inigo," Iris whispered softly to the small Hungarian Horntail. "I'm definitely not going to sacrifice you to your larger counterpart, nope, not at all."
The newly named Inigo gave her an indignant sound, then let out a burst of fire. She threw herself backwards, onto the chair, and held Inigo far from her as the flames reached just far enough for her to feel the heat. It was still adorable.
"These little guys understand me? They know English?" Iris asked, looking up at the crowd with one of her eyebrows singed. While some of the crowd stared at her, clearly uncomfortable, she pulled her wand out and waved it over her scorched eyebrow, using her metamorph ability to regrow it in secret — her silence as she performed the spell raised more eyebrows; it wasn't usual for a fourth year to be able to silently cast spells.
"He understands you, Miss Potter," Dumbledore said, "not because you spoke English, but rather Parseltongue."
Iris's mouth opened in surprise. She hadn't even realized she was speaking it. "Dragons can speak Parseltongue?"
"Speak?" Dumbledore said, smiling. "Perhaps. I wouldn't know, as I am not a Parselmouth, but they do seem to understand it. They are related to snakes after all."
Iris smirked. Dragons could understand her. Perhaps getting past her dragon would be much easier than she anticipated. Talking with McGonagall, Fleur, and Bagman had taken her mind off the dragons, calming her somewhat, and so had the fact that she was closer to having this all done with. She didn't notice Dumbledore shaking his head imperceptibly. She did notice that half of those who were in the tent looked a bit uncomfortable about the topic. Crouch looked almost scandalized.
Bagman also handed out a parchment that listed what they could bring in besides their wand, as well as what they were forbidden to bring with them. It was rather strict. Iris was thankful that Essence of Dittany was not on the forbidden list. It would be silly for them to include it anyhow. Why take away a champion's chance at living through a wound? Firewhisky wasn't on the approved list, but it also wasn't on the forbidden list.
Iris saw Fleur put down the list, reach into her pocket, and jam something in between the cushions of the couch, keeping a carefully blank face the whole time.
"Remember, we'll see everything you do. Use something you're not supposed to, and you'll lose points for it," Bagman said.
And now it was time. The sun was making its descent from the sky. The hour had passed. The adults had all left and the champions were the only remaining ones left.
Krum was at the exit of the tent, the one that would lead them into the first area. She knew he was nervous; she could see it, and she didn't blame him. If she hadn't known about the dragons beforehand, she would have most likely just forfeited at the dragon. Then again, she had always been at her best when she was forced to improvise, when she was thrown into a dangerous situation without much warning.
They heard Bagman explain the rules again to the crowd in the stands, and then finally, shout, "Mr. Krum, please step through and begin the task."
Krum gave a nod to himself and stepped through. Bagman went quiet again; his enhanced voice was likely enchanted to not get through the tent now.
Soon after, she heard a faint buzzing from outside the tent, and she wasn't sure if it was distant crowd or not. She shared a look with Fleur. Inigo, who remained on her shoulder, let out a hiss at the tent exit. It was simply a hiss.
There was no full on communication with Inigo then. Iris frowned.
There was a collective gasp in the distance, and she turned her head towards the sound. It had already gotten dangerous for Krum then, and it hadn't even been two minutes.
"I'm going to kill Madame Maxime," Fleur suddenly said from the couch. "This is all so stupid."
"I know where you can toss her body. There's this trap door in a room on the third floor of Hogwarts. No one goes down there. No one would find her body," Iris said. Fleur stopped her muttering to stare at Iris, who kept her face blank as she walked over to sit down next to Fleur, who glanced at her warily.
It was over an hour later when Fleur's name was finally called. By that point, Iris had just started to ignore all the gasps, screams, and cheers. She had heard Krum's dragon though, and had heard the crowd groan in disappointment just before it was announced that Krum had finally got his egg.
"And Viktor Krum receives a total of thirty-eight points from the judges, leaving his total score for the first task… fifty-eight points!" Bagman shouted. "Miss Delacour, if you would. It is your turn."
Iris raised her eyebrows at that. He must have killed one of the creatures or skipped two sectors if he only received a total of thirty points from the first few sectors. That or the fifth sector took him far too long.
Before Fleur got up, Iris clasped her hand, squeezed lightly, and let go. Fleur smiled at her after she got over her surprise, and exited the tent, still pale. Iris wasn't counting the time, but it was more than an hour later when Bagman had declared that she had gotten her egg. Iris wasn't sure what to think when he happily claimed that Fleur had been set on fire. On one hand, Fleur had been set on fire. On the other, Bagman didn't seem too worried about it.
"Fleur Delacour receives thirty-nine points from the judges, leaving her with a total of eighty-three points!"
Well, Fleur left Krum completely in the dust. If she wasn't so worried about Krum leaving her in the dust, she would have smiled for Fleur.
It was just her now. Cassius had gone. She paced around the tent, getting in some last minute practice like she had done the hour Fleur was gone. She placed the Essence of Dittany in her wand holster, having hidden it in her pocket until everybody was gone. She didn't want the vial to break, and there would have been a good chance of it doing so had she fallen down while it was in her pocket.
The crowd gasped in excitement. Could it truly be so exciting that the crowd wouldn't get bored after three hours of this?
"Tempus."
6:35 PM
By the time she got to the end, it might become dark. Would she have trouble seeing the black dragon in the dark? Not if it was spewing fire at her — she'd know exactly where it was then.
"Cassius Warrington has gotten his golden egg!" Bagman's voice said eventually, and the crowd erupted into her cheers and applause. Cassius had taken much longer than Iris had expected. A moment later, he spoke again, "And Cassius Warrington has received a total of thirty-nine points from the judges, leaving him with a total of seventy-eight points!"
Krum really got the short end of the stick, apparently. Iris could imagine him now, scowling at both Fleur and Cassius for making him look terrible. Now, if she, Iris, could beat his score…
"And now, our very last champion! The youngest champion! Iris Potter!" Bagman shouted, and Iris was surprised to hear a loud cheer from the stadium ahead.
She stepped through the exit of the tent, head held high, her wand in her hand, the setting sun basking her face in an orange glow, and a storm brewing behind her chest. This was it. She could very well be dead within the next hour.
"Iris Potter begins the first task!"