Chapter Three
While everyone was sitting in the stands, the four champions of the Triwizard Tournament were entering the champions' tent. Viktor Krum had leaned himself against one of the poles of the tent with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, as if he was meditating. His headmaster wasn't around, and the young Quidditch star wasn't interested in speaking with anyone else. Fleur Delacour was speaking in French with her headmistress, Madame Maxime, away from all the others, and Cedric Diggory seemed ghostly, appearing pale and nervous, walking in circles around the tent.
Harry Potter simply entered the tent and said "good afternoon" to all as he entered. Practically no one paid him attention, although he received a few grunts in reply. The fourteen-year-old wizard simply sat in a chair with his eyes closed and waited, much like Krum.
"How can you be so calm, Potter?" asked Cedric, walking towards him in what seemed to be an attempt at a truce.
Harry opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"I took a calming draught before coming here?" Harry said, maintaining the serious look on his face. Cedric seemed to believe the story and began murmuring something about calming draughts. Harry simply shook his head and returned to his calming exercises, focusing his magic. He knew Krum would be doing the same; it was an eastern European discipline not well known in the West.
Both Fleur and Krum knew what the task was, Harry was sure of it. Their demeanour was calm, and they clearly had time to research the best ways to neutralize a dragon and had several plans prepared. Cedric clearly didn't. He looked pathetic.
"Oi, Diggory, do you even know what the task is?" asked Harry, raising his voice enough so that only the champions heard.
Cedric glared at him, anger in his face.
"Why, Potter, want me to help you?" sneered Diggory, in an attempt at mockery. Harry simply shrugged.
"No thank you, I've known since the night they arrived," Harry said with a smirk, noticing the almost-smirking look Krum gave him. Fleur simply raised an eyebrow and looked at the two young men and the 'leetle boy'. She almost felt sorry for Harry, yet if he wanted to play with the grownups he'd have to deal with the consequences. Maybe he would get lucky, and the tournament officials would disqualify him after his lousy performance in the task. And yet he seemed to be quite calm, unlike the Hogwarts champion, who was a nervous puddle.
"And what exactly are they, Potter?" asked Cedric, in a very lousy attempt to gain information.
"If you wanted to know, you should have put all those housemates of yours to some use instead of making my life a living hell," Harry replied with a glare, leaving the blonde boy seething. Krum smirked again and Fleur lifted her nose as if they all were undeserving of her.
"Ah, the four champions are here!" said a female voice from the tent's entrance. The reporter Rita Skeeter entered the champions' tent, smiling, and accompanied by a photographer.
"My dears, what are your thoughts on the task at hand?" she asked, eyeing Harry. When no one answered her, she turned to Harry.
"Harry, my dear, are you ready to admit you put your name in the Goblet of Fire and ask to be removed from the task?" the blonde woman asked, smiling at the green-eyed wizard, who smirked back.
"Rita, Rita, Rita..." he whispered in a calm and chilly voice, "I don't like you, you know? Make sure you write this very clearly, because if you don't, it is very likely that we are going to have problems between us, dragging in your boss and the DMLE." Rita Skeeter sneered.
"My dear Harry, I regret to inform you that as a celebrity and a champion, the public has the right to know the truth about you," she explained, patronizing him. He noticed that her Quick-Quotes Quill was scribbling while she talked. Probably inventing another story like the one from weeks earlier, stating he and Granger had been dating in secret for the past two years, only to break up on the night of the champion's selection because she felt she couldn't trust him. In a quick movement, Harry drew his wand and pointed it to the scroll, which turned to ashes in a matter of moments.
"How dare you?!" Rita Skeeter shouted, angered by the teen's actions. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but he pointed his wand at her again. He didn't threaten her at all, he simply flicked it and Rita was sent flying out of the tent.
"Banshee," he spat, not noticing the looks of surprise on the other champions. Before they could say anything, Bagman, Crouch, Dumbledore, and Karkaroff entered the tent, Bagman bringing a bag with him.
"Gather around, please, it is time for our sorting," he said in a very happy voice. He probably was a sadist, Harry thought. The champions gathered around and Bagman started to explain the task.
"In this first task, you will have to demonstrate your courage and your skill by stealing a golden egg from a nesting dragon." Cedric paled even more, if it was even possible, while Krum and Fleur flinched. Harry's lack of reaction was noticed by Dumbledore, causing the headmaster to wonder.
"There are four dragons, one for each of you, and in this bag there are miniatures of each dragon. You will reach into the bag and pull out a miniature, which will show you your dragon and the order of your entrance. Please, ladies first," he said, extending the bag to Fleur. She didn't react and took out a Common Welsh Green miniature with a number two around its neck.
"Ms. Delacour will be number two and will face the Common Welsh Green." Crouch wrote something down and nodded. Krum went next, drawing the Chinese Fireball with the number three. Cedric was second to last, drawing the hated number one and a miniature of a Swedish Short-Snout. That left Harry with number four and the Hungarian Horntail, the most dangerous of all the four dragons.
"Be careful with your dragon, Mr. Potter, we had a hard time getting the fourth dragon and it is quite savage still. I advise extreme caution," said Bagman.
Harry nodded and simply returned to his place, ignoring the speech about bravery, friendship, and all the other stuff that Dumbledore was giving. Not much time passed before the headmasters left and only the champions remained in the tent. Sometime later, the voice of Ludo Bagman could be heard, saluting everyone and opening the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. The champions heard the gasps of the crowd as Bagman announced what the task consisted of, and Harry could imagine everyone betting on his death.
A few moments later, loud roars could be heard outside the tent. It seemed that the first dragon had been taken into the pit, and Cedric was called and informed that he had thirty minutes to get the egg. After about twenty-five minutes it seemed Cedric succeeded in retrieving his egg, judging by the crowd's joyful roar.
As Cedric returned to the tent, Fleur left to face her challenge. They heard the roar of the dragon grow quiet, and Fleur received applause for placing the dragon in a trance. However, she also got a few laughs when the sleeping dragon snorted fire at her, burning her robes before she could get her egg.
There was a short break, and then Krum was next. According to Bagman, he favored an aggressive stance and immediately started casting curses at the dragon. Apparently some of them hit, because everyone started to cheer loudly. However, it seemed that in its daze, the dragon broke some of her eggs, which Bagman stated would cost Krum points.
Finally, it was Harry's turn. He simply walked to the tent flap and waited.
"Try not to die, 'leetle boy', mocked Fleur, tossing her hair back and smirking. Harry ignored her, hearing Ludo Bagman calling his name.
"And now, the last champion, the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament, HARRY POTTER!"
Harry exited the flap and was temporary blinded by the outside light, hearing only boos coming from the stands. It was interesting; thanks to him, the four houses were united with a common goal - hating him. Harry smirked at the thought and simply advanced into the pit where he saw the massive dragon, standing protectively near a nest of eggs. Within the clutch of white eggs there was a glint of gold, which should be the golden egg he was supposed to retrieve.
"Begin!" Bagman's voice sounded, overheard among all the hate the audience was giving him. Harry walked forward, casting a Sonorus Charm on himself. All the hate was silenced at once when Harry started to speak in Parseltongue.
"Greetings, noble dragon, I mean no harm to you or to your young," he hissed in Parseltongue. The audience collectively gasped at what they were hearing, but unfortunately, the dragon didn't react at all like he was expecting. Instead of replying calmly to him, the dragon simply focused on Harry as if he were prey. By no means a fool, Harry realized something was wrong with the dragon and initiated his Plan B by discretely summoning his Firebolt, while again attempting a conversation.
"Great one, noble mother, much like you I stand before you against my will," he hissed again. This time, the dragon roared and thrust its neck out towards Harry, attacking him with dragon's fire. Everyone gasped when the dragon breathed fire, though there were also those that squealed in glee, thinking they had won their bet on Potter's death. Unfortunately for the dragon, Harry Potter was not in the mood to cooperate and he raised a shield spell between himself and the dragon's fire. The audience was amazed. That shield had to be really powerful to withstand the dragon's breath, and Harry seemed to do it with little or no effort at all.
"I AM TALKING!" Harry shouted while hissing, getting angry with the dragon. It was the first time that a dragon didn't reply to his Parseltongue. He never counted Norberta from his first year, as it was still a baby at the time. However, the dragon in front of him was no baby. It was a full-fledged mother dragon, and she was refusing to acknowledge him. Maybe there was something wrong with the beast. Harry was forced out of his reveries when the dragon suddenly strained against its chains and broke them, roaring and breathing fire.
The crowd screamed in fear, even though they were in stands with an Unbreakable Charm on them and had shields between them and the pit. At once the dragon leapt at Harry, who ducked and rolled away from the dragon's claws behind a rock. Harry cast a Reductor Curse in Parseltongue and hit the dragon in the head, blasting away her left horn. The dragon went mad, roaring in pain and smashing against the rocks, attempting to get to Harry. He had a choice, either finish the dragon there and reveal his powers, or use another approach and keep the secret for a while longer. He the felt the Firebolt nearby and decided quickly. He jumped on his broom and flew vertically into the air, followed moments later by the dragon and the eyes of everyone in the stands, who all rose from their seats, astonished at seeing Harry outmanoeuver a dragon.
The dragon breathed fire again against the wizard, who avoided it with some Quidditch manoeuvers. When he had flown high enough and had put a good distance between him and the dragon, Harry simply turned back and led the broom in the opposite direction, towards the dragon and the ground. Pointing his wand towards the dragon, he cast an orange curse and accelerated the broom, intending to pass the dragon before the curse hit the beast. The dragon noticed him coming and opened its jaws. Harry avoided the jaws but didn't quite manage to completely avoid the blast, or the resulting shockwave, as the orange curse hit the dragon inside its mouth.
The dragon's head and part of its neck blew up from the inside, and the rest of the beast's body jerked in the air, before starting to fall again. The force of the blast hit the Firebolt, hurling the broom and its rider in the opposite direction. Harry lost his grip on the broom and fell from it, speeding towards the ground.
The audience was terrified as they watched the Boy-Who-Lived plummeting to the earth, his broom out of reach. Everyone was waiting for someone to do something to come to the boy's aid, but before anyone could react, Harry's body stopped in midair one hundred feet from the ground, visible to all. Gasps of awe and shock could be heard all around, as Harry calmly descended.
Shaking his head, he lifted his wand and summoned his broom back to him. When it arrived, Harry simply sat on it and looked around. He was facing the stands and he saw the looks of shock and awe on their faces. Not only that, but the crowd was now completely silent. Harry simply snorted. He hated them. Maybe not all of them, but most of them.
Before he turned his back on the stands, his eyes found the blue-eyed blonde beauty he had been dreaming about for years looking at him in wonder. He simply smirked and turned around to face the judges and the dragons' keepers, who were all staring at him while performing imitations of fish. Harry snarled and landed ten feet from the egg. However, instead of walking over to pick it up, curiosity took hold of him.
"Accio golden egg," he whispered, raising his wand. Thanks to the Sonorus Charm everyone heard him, and to everyone's surprise the egg came to him. Harry was shocked to the point he facepalmed himself for his own stupidity. Had he thought of it before, he could have avoided everything that happened.
"AH, FUCK!" he spat. Thanks to the charm, his expletive was magnified to a shout that everyone heard, but no one commented or admonished him. They all were completely stunned. Harry startled himself with the volume of his voice, forgetting he was still under the Sonorus Charm. He canceled it and picked up the egg, returning to the tent with it.
There was no sound whatsoever in the pit, and Harry smirked at their faces while he reentered the tent.