-A/N: Please review! I love hearing advice and feedback. How do you guys like Sirius as a character? Am I making him too emotional? I think that's one of the things that appealed to me in the books, was that Sirius always remained strong and brave, but made his care for Harry evident in his actions. Tell me what you think! Anything that didn't happen in the books between Sirius and Harry or Remus and Harry that you want to see? Thanks-

Just as Sirius had predicted, things had been very difficult for Harry in the weeks following the Goblet of Fire's debut. Most of the Gryffindor's were excited about having Harry compete, but the other houses, Slytherin and Hufflepuff in particular, had been very hateful. Malfoy and his cronies had created magical banners that flashed "Diggory is our man," and "Potter Stinks." The Hufflepuffs, who were normally very kind to Harry, took to wearing the badges and pushing Harry in the hallways to watch him stumble. Despite this, Cedric was very kind to Harry, often apologizing for his friends.

Even though Ron wasn't talking to him, Hermione was still there for Harry, often eating in the Great Hall with him and keeping him company in the evenings. Harry appreciated knowing that he had one friend he could count on, but couldn't help missing Ron. Ron added humor to the group, and frankly, going to the library every afternoon with Hermione was getting old.

Sirius and Remus were constantly looking out for him too, and deducting house points from anyone who purposely bullied Harry, despite being accused of favoritism by the other students.

Summer changed to fall, the weather grew crisp, and the first task was approaching. One week before the task, Harry had no idea what he was facing and was equally terrified to find out. He was expressing this concern to Hermione at breakfast when a large barn owl flew into the Great Hall and dropped a letter on Harry's plate.

"Who would be writing to me? My guardian's live here and I don't have any friends outside of school." Harry mumbled, attempting to pull the parchment out of the envelope.

"Who's it from?" Hermione asked when Harry had pulled out the letter, looking over his shoulder to read it as well.

"It's from Hagrid, he wants me to meet him on the grounds tonight at ten, says he has something to show me. Wants me to bring my cloak." Harry looked at Hermione questioningly, then up at the teacher's table, where Hagrid was smiling at him.

"Are you going to?" Hermione whispered, turning her attention back to the odd letter.

"Yeah, I trust Hagrid. If he asks me to come so late at night and risk me getting into trouble, he has a reason." Harry shrugged then turned back to eating his porridge, mind heavy with the looming idea of the first task.


At nine forty-five, Harry snuck out of the Gryffindor common room and walked out onto the grounds. He had told Hermione and Sirius he was going out, and Sirius requested that he come to his quarters immediately after and share what Hagrid would tell him.

He saw Hagrid outside of his hut looking around. Harry thought it was a bit silly that Hagrid was looking for him when he had asked him to wear the cloak, but walked up to him nonetheless.

"Hagrid," Harry whispered, startling the man.

"Oi, Harry, I didn't 'ear ya. Follow me…" Hagrid said, leading Harry towards the Forbidden Forest. All of Harry's experiences with the forest flashed through his mind and he tried to push away any negative thoughts. He just wished he knew Hagrid's plans.

Before Harry could ask him, Hagrid shouted out. "Madame Maxime! How are ya?"

Harry jumped as the large lady came up behind him, and he barely moved out of the way in time to avoid her large gait.

So this is what Hagrid wanted? To introduce him to his new girlfriend? Harry was tempted to sneak away, but then Hagrid spoke up again. "Alright then, this way. I want ter show ya somethin'."

Harry followed them to the large arena that the First Task was to be held in, and peered inside. His breath caught when he saw a large amount of fire spiraling at them. When Madame Maxime had moved far enough away, Harry took off the cloak. "DRAGONS? You've got to be joking!"

"Oi, Harry, you'll be fine. Trus' me, Dragons are misunderstood creatures." Hagrid said, smiling at a particularly ferocious black one. "That there is the Hungarian Horntail. I feel bad for the one of you who has to fight it."

Harry leapt back as the Horntail shot fire in their general direction and shook his head. "I'm in over my head, I can't do this."

Hagrid, however, was no longer listening, and had returned his attention back to Madame Maxime. Harry, having seen enough, left to the castle to tell Sirius.


"Dragons, Sirius! Why couldn't it have been a unicorn? Actually, I think I would take the basilisk over this one." Harry said, flopping down beside his godfather on the couch.

Sirius frowned, but spoke with confidence. "We can handle dragons, Harry. There's a simple spell you can use that should get you through the task smoothly. I'm more concerned at finding who has put you in this danger in the first place."

"Can you teach me the spell?" Harry asked, perking up slightly.

"Of course I will, pup. But it's a charm so you'll need to work hard on it," Sirius said, chuckling at his godson's exasperated face.

"Well… maybe I won't get burned alive then. We need to start soon, though, the task is in a week." Harry mumbled, looking down.

Sirius ruffled his hair. "We'll start right now if you would like. I promised you I would keep you safe and I don't plan to go back on that promise."

Harry smiled up at him and nodded. They set to work for the rest of the evening on the conjunctivitis curse, which would supposedly cause temporary blindness of the dragon and save Harry.


During break the following day, Harry actively sought out Cedric, wanting to warn him about the dragons as well, since he was sure Madame Maxime had told Fleur. He found him out in the middle of the castle courtyard, surrounded by his friends.

"Cedric," Harry said, ignoring the jeers from his friends. "A word, now please."

Cedric looked back at his friends once before nodding and walking over to an empty corner. "What is it, Harry?"

"Dragons. That's the first task." Harry said simply, meeting Cedric's astounded gaze.

"Dragons?" Cedric asked, looking skeptical. "You're sure?"

"Yes, I saw them." Harry said, determined to make Cedric understand the severity of the task.

Cedric nodded thoughtfully, then turned back to Harry. "Why are you telling me?"

Harry shrugged. "I mean, someone showed me, and I saw Maxime and Karkaroff near the area, so I didn't want you to be the only one that didn't know."

After a moment of contemplation, Cedric smiled. "Thanks Harry, I appreciate it." Harry nodded back to him before turning to walk away. He saw his godfather, Remus, and Moody talking to one another across the courtyard and watching him. He considered going to talk to them, but Cedric grabbed his arm. "Oh, and Harry? I wanted you to know, I've told my friends to stop wearing the badges Malfoy made. They aren't funny."

Harry nodded at him again before turning to go to his next class. As he was walking out the courtyard, he heard Malfoy jeer at him. "Hey Potter, going to run to daddy's room and cry about the First Task, are you? Oh wait, that's right, Black isn't your dad. You haven't got one."

Harry turned around and saw Sirius stand up from the other side of the courtyard, probably intending to break up the fight before it started. Ignoring him, Harry stepped closer to Malfoy. "Hmm, Draco, funny you should say that, considering you're the biggest daddy's boy in this entire school. Heard you've sent him at least twelve letters in the last week."

Harry turned to walk away and briefly heard Draco shout something before he screamed. Harry turned immediately to see a small, white ferret being bounced up and down by Professor Moody. Harry looked to Sirius and Remus who were making no attempt to stop Moody and, instead, laughing at the small ferret. Harry laughed too and watched as Malfoy was forced into Goyle's pants. "That will teach you, never point your wand at someone who's turned away from you." Moody growled.

"Alastor!" McGonagall yelled, running up to the scene. "Is that a student?"

Harry didn't stick around to hear the conversation, and was happy to see Malfoy get some form of payback. He found Hermione in the corridor, and they walked together to History of Magic, with Harry feeling surprisingly lighthearted.


"You're doing fine, Harry, this is a difficult task," Sirius said soothingly, watching Harry slump down against the corner of the defense classroom after messing up the conjunctivitis curse again. Remus had offered them the classroom to prepare for the first task, which was subsequently, tomorrow.

"You're wasting your time, the boy is no good at charms." A gruff voice said from the doorway.

Sirius sighed. "You're not helping Moody."

"He's right though, I'm rubbish at them." Harry mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. Sirius went to sit beside him on the floor, and Moody spoke up again.

"I might have a solution. It involves a summoning charm though, which I've heard the boy struggles with as well." Harry huffed in response and Sirius shot Moody a 'get on with it' look.

"Potter, what are you good at?" Moody questioned, leaning against a desk in the room.

"He's great at lots of things, Moody, and if you're just going to insult my godson then-"

"I'm good at quidditch," Harry spoke up, interrupting his godfather. "But I'm not allowed a broom."

"But you're allowed a wand." Moody said simply, before clunking back out the room.

Sirius looked thoughtful for a second, and then nodded. "It could work actually… blimey, that's brilliant. Harry, go get your firebolt. Time to perfect that summoning charm."


The morning of the first task came too early for Harry, who had been up all night working on summoning charms with Sirius. He had returned to Sirius's quarters instead of the dorm, so his godfather could ensure that he didn't oversleep and got enough food that morning.

"Ready pup?" Sirius asked as Harry walked into the living room. Harry shrugged and slumped down on the couch, picking up a piece of toast.

Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder gently, "you'll do fine, just think about where you are keeping your Firebolt and it will come to you."

Harry nodded, trying to believe his godfather's words of comfort, but not able fight off the huge bout of anxiety that had overtaken him since the previous evening. He had, in fact, perfected the summoning charm. However, he had only managed to do it from fifty meters away, and the firebolt would be in his bedroom in Sirius's quarters, which was a much greater distance from the arena than fifty meters. Harry sighed and nibbled on his toast, hoping the day would hurry up and pass by.


"Alright you four, it's time to pick your dragons. I have tiny replicas of each of the dragons in here, and they've got numbers around their necks, which is the order you will compete in." Ludo Bagman said. "We'll go in order of oldest to youngest. Victor," Bagman passed the black bag to Krum, who pulled out a red dragon that Crouch referred to as the Chinese Fireball. The small dragon had a three around his neck. Next Bagman passed the bag to Fleur, who pulled out a Common Welsh Green with the number two. Cedric went next, pulling out the Swedish Short-Snout with a number one. That left…

"The Hungarian Horntail," Bagman said, beaming at Harry when he pulled it out. "Well, good luck everyone. We'll come speak with you afterward!"

The judges left the champion tent and Harry looked in horror at the small black dragon in his hand. It pounced around and then blasted fire at Harry's thumb. Harry recoiled before placing it on the desk by his chair. He sat and waited to meet his destiny, barely listening to the crowd cheering as Cedric was called up to fight his dragon. All he could think about was last night with Sirius, how much Sirius seemed to care for him. He stayed up all night to practice a charm with him, for no reason other than because he wanted to keep Harry safe. Now Harry was about to fight the most ferocious dragon in the tournament, and he couldn't help thinking that Sirius's assistance might have been in vain.


"You know, that conjunctivitis curse didn't exactly work the way I had expected it to when Victor did it," Sirius said with a frown. "I'm glad Harry decided to take a different route."

Remus nodded. "I'm impressed with Cedric's transfiguration, a rock into a living creature? Very advanced indeed. Shame it didn't work that well either. I wonder what dragon Harry will be going up against?"

Before Sirius could offer a response, a load roar sounded through the air, and both Sirius and Remus looked into the arena with horror. "A horntail! A damned, godforsaken horntail!" Sirius shouted, looking out at the angry mother dragon.

"Sirius!" Remus said, trying to get his friend's attention. "You've got to calm down-"

"No, Moony! It's a horntail, my boy is going against a damn horntail, the most dangerous dragon… who's bloody idea was it to bring one of those…" Sirius acted as if he were about to stand up and take Harry far away from there, but then Ludo Bagman's voice began the introduction of the fourth champion, and Sirius slumped back down in his chair. He looked defeated. Remus could have sworn he heard Sirius whimper "my baby" under his breath and his heart ached in pain for him. Sirius was never one to show emotion or affection, but ever since he had gotten Harry back, he had devoted his life to him. Harry was Sirius's world, and Remus couldn't begin to imagine his level of anxiety at seeing what his godson was facing. Remus, of course, had his anxieties as well, being a partial guardian of Harry; however, he knew of the strong type of bond Sirius and Harry shared, and put a hand on his friend's shoulder in silent support.

"Sirius, just remember, all of these dragons are dangerous, but Harry is strong. He'll be fine." As Remus said this, the small boy walked out of the cave leading into the arena and surveyed the area. Sirius's breath caught and he silently begged for the spell to work the way it had the night before.


"Accio Firebolt!" Harry shouted, thinking of his firebolt laying on the bed in Sirius's quarters. He kept his eyes on the large dragon that was eyeing him hungrily, and listened hard for any sound indicating that his one saving grace would be arriving.

The Horntail began to get impatient, and starting inching towards Harry, clearly curious as to what the small boy might do. Harry took a step back, fearful that the dragon would try and shoot fire. All of the sudden the Horntail reared and Harry jumped out of the way of the flames. He heard gasps, but he just sat there, behind a rock, waiting for a broomstick that might not arrive on time.

Just as he began to lose hope, he saw it; the Firebolt flew straight at him and Harry didn't think twice. He jumped on it and kicked off into the air. He heard the cheers in the crowd and did a circle around the stadium, watching the dragon closely. He looked down at the teacher's section and saw Sirius whooping for him, ecstatic, and Harry couldn't help but feel proud that he had mastered the first charm Sirius had taught him. He also found he was no longer frightened of the task; no, this was just like a quidditch game and the golden egg was his snitch.

The roar of the dragon took him out of his reverie, and he immediately began swooping in and out of the stadium, trying to lure the dragon away from the egg. The dragon attempted to shoot fire at him, but he managed to dodge most of the attacks, barely getting scraped on the shoulder in one narrow miss by its spiky tail.

Finally, after about five minutes of dodging flames, Harry knew what he had to do. He had to make the dragon fly after him. He taunted her, flying just out of her reach to make her angry. She screeched and reared, but did nothing to chase him. Come on, Harry thought desperately, just come after me.

As if she had read his mind, the dragon finally shot up into the air, intending to get rid of the nuisance that was trying to disturb her eggs. Harry was too quick though, and plummeted straight down, grabbing the golden egg and swiftly flying out of the arena to safety.


"Did you see him, Moony! The way he swerved and dodged that fire, it was incredible!"

Remus smiled at Sirius's excitement as the two walked swiftly to the champion's entrance with Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Moody.

"And his flying skills, I always knew he was great, but wow… I daresay he's a better flyer than James was his seventh year. Harry!" Sirius yelled opening his arms as the boy ran to them and hugging him tightly.

"That was brilliant, Mr. Potter!" McGonagall said, smiling at Sirius and Harry.

"You were great, 'Arry," Hagrid beamed. "An' against tha Horntail too, I can' believe-"

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said, cutting him off so he wouldn't accidentally let slip that Harry had been given word of the task beforehand.

"Come on, cub, let's get you checked out by Madam Pomfrey. That cut looks deep." Remus said, grabbing Sirius and Harry by the arm and pulling them towards the champion's tent.

"Wait," Sirius said, stopping them. "They're going to show Harry's scores."

They walked over to the judges' area, and waited. After a moments deliberation, the scores were revealed. Harry recieved top marks from all the judges except for Karkaroff, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he wouldn't completely humiliate himself…

Sirius let out a cheer when it was announced that Harry tied for first with Victor Krum and embraced his godson again. "I knew you could do it, Harry, you were fantastic!"

"Oh really, Padfoot? I remember you being in hysterics when you saw what Dragon Harry was facing," Remus said with a smile, throwing an arm around both of their shoulders. Harry laughed at the thought of his godfather upset over the dragon, but also felt a rush of affection for Sirius, happy that someone cared so deeply for him.

Sirius swatted at Remus, and the three headed to the tent to get Harry's cut fixed. Sirius wouldn't shut up about how brilliant Harry was, and Harry eventually threatened to hex him if he didn't quit going on about it. Sirius barked a laugh and ruffled Harry's hair. "Hey, I can't help being proud of my boy."

Harry beamed back up at him, but before he could respond, he heard someone clear their throat from the front of the tent. Harry turned to see Ron and Hermione standing at the entrance.

"Come on, Padfoot," Remus mumbled, grabbing Sirius's arm. Sirius reluctantly obliged, and told Harry they would be in Remus's quarters if he needed them.

"You were brilliant, Harry." Hermione said, walking over and hugging him.

"Yeah, mate, you were. I guess… I guess someone really does want you dead, entering you in this tournament." Ron mumbled, looking down from where he was standing.

"Finally caught on, have you?" Harry said, a little coldly.

Ron opened his mouth, trying to apologize, but Harry realized he didn't need to hear it. "Forget it." Harry said, gently.

"But-"

"No, Ron, forget it." Harry smiled at him and Ron smiled back. Hermione beamed at them both and all three walked back to the castle and on to the Gryffindor common room, where they were celebrating Harry's victory with stolen food from the kitchen. Harry hadn't felt this happy in weeks, and gladly drank all the butterbeer he could handle before retreating to his room for what he hoped to be a peaceful night's sleep.